Can past intergroup contact shape support for policies in a pandemic? Processes predicting endorsement of discriminatory Chinese restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis

Alston, Lisa, Meleady, Rose ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4671-4960 and Seger, Charles R. (2022) Can past intergroup contact shape support for policies in a pandemic? Processes predicting endorsement of discriminatory Chinese restrictions during the COVID-19 crisis. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 25 (1). pp. 122-132. ISSN 1368-4302

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Abstract

A survey of 340 UK residents was conducted when the COVID-19 virus first reached the UK in February 2020. We measured past experiences of positive and negative intergroup contact with Chinese people as predictors of intergroup threat and emotions in the context of the pandemic; and how these processes in turn predicted support for discriminatory policies designed to restrict the freedom of Chinese people in the UK. We tested a novel threat-matching hypothesis which draws upon models of outgroup-specific social perception to predict that the emotional processes underlying contact effects will depend on the specific threat posed by the outgroup. In the present epidemiological context, Chinese people posed a salient threat to individuals’ physical health and welfare. Accordingly, we show that whilst intergroup contact predicted both fear and anger towards the outgroup, the indirect effect of contact on support for Chinese restriction policies via fear was significantly stronger than the indirect effect via anger. Our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how specific threat and emotions drive intergroup contact effects, and offer important insights for efforts to maintain positive intergroup relations in the face of the crisis.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	covid-19,intergroup contact,intergroup emotions,intergroup relations,prejudice,threat,social psychology,cultural studies,communication,arts and humanities (miscellaneous),sociology and political science,sdg 10 - reduced inequalities ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3207
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Social Cognition Research Group Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Centres > Centre for Behavioural and Experimental Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	28 Aug 2020 00:04
Last Modified:	29 Jan 2024 02:53
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/76673
DOI:	10.1177/1368430220959710

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