Fostering social change among advantaged and disadvantaged group members: Integrating intergroup contact and social identity perspectives on collective action

Di Bernardo, G. A.; Vezzali, L.; Stathi, S.; McKeown, S.; Cocco, V. M.; Dixon, J. and Saguy, T. (2021). Fostering social change among advantaged and disadvantaged group members: Integrating intergroup contact and social identity perspectives on collective action. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 24(1) pp. 26–47.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430219889134

Abstract

Recent research on intergroup contact has shown how interactions with outgroup members may both decrease and increase motivations to achieve social equality. Similarly, social identity theory has identified the conditions that lead individuals to challenge unequal social systems. Integrating these two major theories, the current study examined the processes underlying the relationship between intergroup contact and participants’ willingness to engage in collective action to challenge social inequality. Specifically, we tested socio-structural variables (status legitimacy and stability, and permeability of group boundaries) as potential mediators of contact in a sample of both advantaged (Italian high-school students, N = 392) and disadvantaged (immigrant high-school students, N = 165) group members. We found that contact was positively associated with motivation for change, an effect mediated by decreased perceived legitimacy of status differences. Moreover, for the advantaged group, membership salience moderated the effects of quality (but not quantity) of contact. Indirect effects were instead not moderated by content of contact (an index considering the extent to which contact was characterized by a focus on differences vs. commonalities between groups). Theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.

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About

• Item ORO ID
• 67453
• Item Type
• Journal Item
• ISSN
• 1368-4302
• Keywords
• intergroup relations; contact; inequality; social change; collective action; membership salience; social identity theory
• Academic Unit or School
• Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Psychology and Counselling > Psychology
  Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) > Psychology and Counselling
  Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)
• Copyright Holders
• © 2019 Gian Antonio Di Bernado, © 2019 Loris Vezzali, © 2019 Sofia Stathi, © 2019 Shelley McKeown, © 2019 Veronica Margherita Cocco, © 2019 Tamar Saguy, © 2019 John Dixon
• Depositing User
• John Dixon