The present research examined how daily experiences of intergroup contact through social interaction (direct contact) and exposure to outgroups in media (media contact) facilitate improvements in intergroup attitudes. A longitudinal diary study was conducted whereby participants indicated the amount of direct contact and media contact they had each day, as well as their intergroup attitudes. Results indicated that direct contact and media contact both independently predicted improvements in intergroup attitudes. For direct contact, but not media contact, this relationship was moderated by the perceived negativity of the contact. Time-lagged analyses indicated that direct contact on a given day predicted improved intergroup attitudes on a subsequent day above and beyond direct contact on that day, but that media contact has little or no residual impact. This suggests that although media contact and direct contact may both be effective at promoting more positive intergroup attitudes, direct contact may have a more lasting impact.

The present research examined how daily experiences of intergroup contact through social interaction (direct contact) and exposure to outgroups in media (media contact) facilitate improvements in intergroup attitudes. A longitudinal diary study was conducted whereby participants indicated the amount of direct contact and media contact they had each day, as well as their intergroup attitudes. Results indicated that direct contact and media contact both independently predicted improvements in intergroup attitudes. For direct contact, but not media contact, this relationship was moderated by the perceived negativity of the contact. Time-lagged analyses indicated that direct contact on a given day predicted improved intergroup attitudes on a subsequent day above and beyond direct contact on that day, but that media contact has little or no residual impact. This suggests that although media contact and direct contact may both be effective at promoting more positive intergroup attitudes, direct contact may have a more lasting impact.

This thesis investigated the effects of intergroup contact on different types of collective action tendencies among advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Studies 1 and 2 tested the simultaneous effects of intergroup contact and established predictors of collective action on collective action tendencies and ingroup and outgroup oriented policies among Blacks and Whites in South Africa, and compared the effects of intergroup contact and social identity on collective action tendencies via relative deprivation and group efficacy. The findings revealed that while social identity was positively associated with collective action tendencies, both directly and indirectly, effects of contact were negative and indirect via relative deprivation and group efficacy. Studies 3 and 4 investigated the effects of contact and social identity on collective action tendencies via perceived threats. Using data from Turkish and Kurdish groups in Turkey, I found that social identity predicted collective action tendencies positively, both directly and indirectly, while it predicted outgroup attitudes negatively and indirectly via perceived threats. Intergroup contact, on the other hand, predicted outgroup attitudes positively, both directly and indirectly, and collective action tendencies negatively via perceived threats. In Study 5, intergroup contact was positively associated, both directly and indirectly, via perspective taking and collective guilt, associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. In Study 6, the effect of social identity on ingroup oriented collective action was positive and direct. Intergroup contact with the weaker minority group, on the other hand, was positively associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies via perspective taking. Additionally, intergroup contact with the majority outgroup moderated this relationship. When participants reported more contact with the majority group, intergroup contact with the weaker minority was not associated with outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. However, when the participants reported less contact with the majority group, intergroup contact positively predicted outgroup oriented collective action tendencies. Finally, Study 7 investigated the effects of two different dimensions of contact, contact with the majority and minority on collective action, via outgroup attitudes, dual-identification, and common ingroup identity in a three wave longitudinal design (N=610) among Turkish Cypriots in northern Cyprus. While the results did not support findings from the previous studies on the so-called paradoxical effects of contact on collective action tendencies, they revealed a robust negative reciprocal relationship between outgroup attitudes toward Greek Cypriots and collective action tendencies.

Drawing upon intergroup contact theory (Allport, 1954; Pettigrew 1998) and the emerging literature on intergroup climate (e.g., Christ et al., 2013, 2014), I utilised various antipathetic intergroup relationships (e.g., Black people vs. White people; non-Muslims vs. Muslims), and various models of contact (e.g., Pettigrew, 1998; Koschate & van Dick, 2011) to test whether the effect of higher quality contact on less prejudice was facilitated by perceptions of a more positive intergroup climate. Results supported Allport’s (1954) classic model of four contact conditions independently predicting prejudice, although the conditions of ‘equal status’, ‘goal interdependence’, and ‘cooperation’ loaded strongly onto a separate factor than did ‘authority support’. Intergroup climate was successfully modelled as perceptions of intergroup norms, ingroup norms, and sociohistoric norms; further, there was some indication that beliefs regarding authority – traditionally considered a contact condition – might also impact intergroup climate in the form of macro authority norms. Results further supported the position that individuals are sensitive to intergroup climate, perceptions of which exhibited a separate – and stronger – effect on outgroup attitudes than did quality of personal contact. Regarding the proposed moderating effect of intergroup climate on contact effects, results were equivocal across studies. Some results supported the prediction of a facilitating effect of warmer ingroup norms on stronger contact effects. However, analyses of cross-sectional data revealed some evidence for an inhibitory effect, such that more negative (vs. positive) perceptions of intergroup climate were associated with a stronger relation between higher quality contact and warmer outgroup attitudes. Therefore, some aspects of intergroup contact might be most effective in negative intergroup climates. Theoretical and practical implications for contact researchers, prejudice researchers, and practitioners, are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychological Sciences / Mark A. Barnett / In the current study, 141 White third- and fourth-grade children were asked to provide their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward White, Black, and Hispanic peers several days before and after being read a personalized or non-personalized storybook that depicted the children, themselves (personalized) or an unfamiliar White character (non-personalized), in a cross- or same-race friendship with a target Black (cross-race) or White (same-race) storybook character. Further, children were asked to provide their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the target Black or White storybook character immediately before and after being read the storybook, and report how much they felt imaginatively transported into the narrative of the story after being read the storybook. In general, and consistent with Harwood’s (2010) two-dimensional framework of contact space, it was predicted that a personalized storybook that depicted the children, themselves, in a cross-race friendship with a Black storybook character would be more effective than a non-personalized version of the storybook at improving their ratings of the Black storybook character as well as their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the Black and Hispanic peers. Although analyses of the data yielded several interesting findings, no support was found for the main predictions involving the potential impact of a personalized storybook on White children's ratings of the Black storybook character, Black peers, and Hispanic peers. In fact, the only significant effect of the personalization of the storybook that merits attention involved the children’s imaginative transportation into the cross-race friendship story. Specifically, and consistent with prediction, children in the cross-race friendship storybook condition reported feeling more imaginatively transported into the narrative of the storybook when it was personalized than when it was not personalized. In sum, although personalization was indeed “powerful” in elevating White children’s imaginative transportation into a storybook that depicted a cross-race friendship, it was not powerful enough to influence their attitudes, feelings, and behaviors toward the Black storybook character, the Black peers, or the Hispanic peers. The implications and limitations of the present study, as well as directions for future research, are addressed.

This dissertation consists of three chapters in development economics which investigate questions related to intergroup contact and the consequences of civil conflicts. In the first chapter, I study how refugee networks influence social integration in the host community in the context of Turkey, a country that has been profoundly impacted by the arrival of more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees since 2011. Using a rich dataset on the mobile phone communications of Syrian refugees, I construct village-level measures of refugee presence and social integration. In villages with a larger refugee population, refugees made significantly more phone calls to locals and other refugees, and a higher proportion of their calls were placed to locals. I argue that refugee networks made it easier for their members to interact with locals by sharing information on local norms and creating new opportunities to meet locals. The second chapter examines how the cost of inter-ethnic contact influences inter-ethnic relations. The study uses the staggered improvements of the Indonesian road network during the 1990s and shows that it lowered the cost of intergroup contact. The resulting enhancement in access to other ethnic groups led to increasing rates of inter-ethnic marriages. The third chapter investigates the long-run effects of civil conflicts on human capital that owe their impact to family structure. Specifically, I study how the loss of a sibling during the 1994 genocide against Tutsis in Rwanda affected surviving children. The loss of a sibling had positive effects on human capital and negative effects on wealth. I argue that these results are consistent with standard models of fertility choice, although other mechanisms could also have played a role.

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The empirical knowledgebase of intergenerational programming (IGP) largely relies on anecdotal reports by staff and family members. The lack of concrete knowledge is particularly evident in the literature regarding IGP involving elders with dementia. In an effort to fill some of the voids in the current literature base, observations were conducted for seven weeks at a co-located child and adult day program to determine the effects of IGP on 10 older adult participants (M age =81 yrs., S.D. = 5.21). All participants (5 male and 5 female) were diagnosed with dementia by a physician and attended the adult day program regularly. Intergroup contact theory, which emphasizes interdependence between groups, informed the development and facilitation of the IGP activities. A structured scale was utilized to assess the elders' social behavior and affect during IGP. Control observations were conducted during adult-only activities representative of traditional dementia-care programming, and qualitative data were collected through participant interviews and facilitator journaling to corroborate the quantitative findings. T-test analyses revealed that the older adults exhibited significantly greater levels of group social behavior and significantly fewer instances of unoccupied behavior during IGP as compared to traditional adult-only activities. The adults also expressed significantly more positive affect during IGP than in the control activities. Findings from the qualitative inquiries supported the quantitative results by emphasizing the meaning and purpose of IGP for the elders. Results indicated that effectively planned and facilitated IGP is an appropriate and interesting activity for elders with dementia. / Master of Science

The rising costs of attending college have students, families, and other stakeholders calling for evidence of gains that result from earning a degree (Burrows, 1999; Jongbloed, Enders and Salerno, 2008; Julian, 2012). They expect that graduates to achieve cognitive gains in communication, critical thinking, and the ability to work independently and in teams (SHEEO, 2005). Additionally, the global marketplace has created the need for graduates to achieve sociocultural gains; they need to understand different cultures and successfully interact with diverse peoples (Gurin, 1999; Leville, 2006). Research has shown that different experiences influence cognitive and sociocultural gains including student faculty interaction (SFI) and intergroup contact (IGC) (Cole, 2007; Kuh and Hu, 2001; Thompson, 2001; Umbach and Porter, 2002). However, cognitive and sociocultural gains have typically been explored independently. Moreover, researchers have not examined the demographic factors that, combined with SFI and IGC, promote such gains. The purpose of this study was to determine if SFI, IGC, and demographic factors (gender, race or academic major) explain variance in cognitive and sociocultural gains among college seniors. The sample included seniors who completed the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) Fourth edition. The results of the hierarchical linear regression revealed that SFI and IGC have a significant influence on both cognitive and sociocultural gains. However, the impact of these predictors is not experienced by every student uniformly; a student's sex, race and academic major matters. / Ph. D.

Team projects in engineering are critical sites for professional and personal development as students interact with peers and faculty on projects designed to simulate engineering work. These projects allow students to try on professional roles and establish a sense of identity within their field, which in turn influences their retention through college and into engineering careers. However, team projects can present challenges specific to students from underrepresented populations. While research on women's team experiences is strong, few researchers have studied African-Americans. To fill this gap, the current study explores the experiences of African-American males on multiracial student teams and the impact of those teams on these students' identities. This qualitative study employed a phenomenological approach, using a three-interview sequence with eight African-American male engineering students as they worked on team projects at a predominantly white institution (PWI). The interviews gathered background information about each participant, explored the team functionality during the project, and enabled participants to reflect on the team experience. Two theoretical frameworks were considered during the study design: 1) intergroup contact theory provided a lens to explore interracial interactions, and 2) multiple identities provided a lens to analyze the impact of team dynamics on students' intersecting identities. The findings provide a rich understanding of the team experiences of African-American male students that can enhance project-based teaching within engineering to more explicitly attend to team dynamics, including interracial interactions for students of color. Both positive and negative impacts on African-American males in engineering emerged from the intergroup contact within the team environment. Specifically, the results indicate that these participants enjoyed their multiracial student teaming experiences, supported by informal social interactions among team members and generally positive professional interactions. However, the study participants also entered their team experiences fully aware of the negative stereotypes about African-Americans in engineering and proactively worked to dispel those stereotypes. / Ph. D.