Journal
GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS
Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 60-71Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/1368430215583517
Keywords
cross-group friendships; cross-group interaction; intergroup contact; self-expansion; self-growth
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Funding
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) [SSHRC 410-2011-0834]
- Fetzer Foundation
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Rather than seeing outgroup members as targets of fear, conflict, or even tolerance, the self-expansion model proposes that outgroup members might be seen as attractive opportunities for self-growth. The current study utilizes an experimental manipulation to raise (or lower) self-expansion motivation prior to a positive interaction with a stranger from a different ethnic group. The results show that priming high self-expansion motivation leads to higher quality interactions, greater interpersonal closeness, greater feelings of self-growth, and higher feelings of self-efficacy. In addition, these outcomes show patterns of mediation consistent with the predictions of self-expansion theory. These findings point to a potentially valuable tool for improving the quality of cross-group contact experiences. More broadly, they focus attention on the genuinely positive functions that relationships with outgroup members can have for the self.
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