Intended, unintended, and unknown consequences of contact the role of positive-negative contact on outgroup attitudes, collective action tendencies, and psychological well-being

Abstract

We investigated the role of positive and negative contact on outgroup attitudes, collective action tendencies, and psychological well-being among minority (Kurds) and majority (Turks) group members in a conflict area (N = 527), testing ingroup identification, relative deprivation, are perceived discrimination as potential mediators in these associations. Contrary to recent research studies demonstrating the superiority of negative contact effects, positive contact was generally a stronger determinant of the dependent variables, directly and indirectly, in both groups, although negative contact also had some direct and indirect associations with the outcomes. Findings highlight the need to incorporate the role of positive and negative contact to provide a full understanding of the potential benefits/costs of the contact strategy it conflict settings.