Thesis (B. Sc.(Hons.))--University of Queensland, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on March 24, 2009) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Honors)--Ohio State University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 22-24). Available online via Ohio State University's Knowledge Bank

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Psychology, 2010. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-93)

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.

The present study aimed to examine how a manipulated majority position affects attitude change for intergroup and non-intergroup issues. Specifically I wanted to see how norms of tolerance and norms of prejudice differed. The study employed a 3 (majority manipulated position: positive, neutral, or negative) X 2 (issue type: intergroup or non-intergroup) ANCOVA. Additionally, I wanted to examine how participants’ perceived societal direction affects attitude change for intergroup issues with a 3 (majority manipulated position: positive, neutral, or negative) X 3 (perceived direction of attitude: support, stay the same, negative) ANOVA. Participants were randomly assigned to view a majority manipulation position. Attitude change was determined by a difference between a pre-and post-manipulation score. In partial support of my hypothesis intergroup issues elicited more norm-consistent attitude change than non-intergroup topics, however this was driven by a prejudicial social norm effect. No effect was found for perceived societal direction.

No description available.

The purpose of this research is to test the idea that creating a social connection with an outgroup member by thinking about how the self is similar to this outgroup member produces positive intergroup outcomes, whereas creating a sense of connection by thinking about how the outgroup member is similar to the self produces less positive intergroup outcomes. An overview of the literature on connections between the self and outgroup members, and the importance of the framing of such connection is reviewed in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, I examine whether a sense of social connection can be created and whether the nature of this connection is influenced by the way the similarity between the self and the outgroup member is framed. I find non-significant effects, though in an interesting pattern suggesting that a better manipulation may produce stronger effects. In Chapter 3 I examine how framing of the connection to an outgroup member affects stereotyping of, and interest in, the outgroup. I find that participants tend to project their own personality onto an outgroup member when their connection with him or her is framed as how the outgroup member is similar to the self. They thus show decreased stereotyping but also less interest in the other’s culture. In contrast, when participants make a connection to an outgroup member and their connection with him or her is framed as the self is similar to the outgroup member, they display an interest in the outgroup culture and a decrease in stereotyping that is accompanied by more positive outgroup evaluation. In Chapter 4, I extend these findings by demonstrating that when participants make a social connection with an outgroup member and this connection is framed as how the self is similar to the outgroup, then they experience more distress when they learn about a real case of discrimination against a different outgroup member. In Chapter 5, I tried to create a social connection with a member of an outgroup by having them notice that they share a birthday with the outgroup member. Unfortunately, this manipulation did not appear to produce my expected effects, suggesting that sharing interests as opposed to a birthday may be important in creating the type of connection necessary for my effects. In Chapter 6 I examine how the social connection with an outgroup member can effect a social interaction with that outgroup member and openness to cultural activities of the outgroup. Creating a social connection in which similarity to an outgroup member is framed as the self being similar to the outgroup member leads to a more positive online interaction with increased friendliness toward the outgroup members and greater interest in the other’s culture. In Chapter 7, I discuss the theoretical implications for these findings, their weaknesses and directions for future research.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 170-182). Also available on the Internet.