Perspective-Taking and Willingness to Engage in Intergroup Contact

• Main Authors: WANG, Cynthia S., TAI, Kenneth, KU, Gillian, GALINSKY, Adam D.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: Intergroup contact; outgroups; stereotypes; Organizational Behavior and Theory; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/3631; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/lkcsb_research/article/4630/viewcontent/Wang_et_al.__2014_PLOS_One.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

The current research explored whether perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with stereotyped outgroup members. Across three studies, we find that perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with negatively-stereotyped targets. In Study 1, perspective-takers sat closer to, whereas stereotype suppressors sat further from, a hooligan compared to control participants. In Study 2, individual differences in perspective-taking tendencies predicted individuals’ willingness to engage in contact with a hooligan, having effects above and beyond those of empathic concern. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated that perspective-taking’s effects on intergroup contact extend to the target’s group (i.e., another homeless man), but not to other outgroups (i.e., a man of African descent). Consistent with other perspective taking research, our findings show that perspective-taking facilitates the creation of social bonds by increasing contact with stereotyped outgroup members.