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Secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact via social identity complexity
Author(s) -
Schmid Katharina,
Hewstone Miles,
Tausch Nicole
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
british journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 98
eISSN - 2044-8309
pISSN - 0144-6665
DOI - 10.1111/bjso.12045
Subject(s) - outgroup , operationalization , ingroups and outgroups , psychology , social psychology , social identity theory , similarity (geometry) , identity (music) , social group , epistemology , philosophy , physics , artificial intelligence , computer science , acoustics , image (mathematics)
Secondary transfer effects ( STE s) of intergroup contact refer to the generalization of contact effects from a primary encountered outgroup to attitudes towards secondary outgroups (Pettigrew, 2009). Using two large, cross‐sectional data sets from Germany ( N = 1,381) and Northern Ireland ( N = 1,948), this article examined the extent to which STE s of intergroup contact on attitudes towards a range of secondary outgroups occur via a previously unexplored psychological construct, social identity complexity (operationalized as similarity complexity and overlap complexity). Study 1 found primary outgroup contact to be associated with greater similarity complexity, but no indirect effects on secondary outgroup attitudes via complexity emerged. Study 2, however, revealed indirect positive relationships between primary outgroup contact and secondary outgroup attitudes via increased similarity complexity and overlap complexity. These relationships were obtained while controlling for two previously tested mediating mechanisms, attitude generalization (operationalized as primary outgroup attitude) and deprovincialization (operationalized as ingroup attitude and identification). We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and the contribution of social identity complexity to understanding processes underlying STE s of contact.