The Effect of Imagined Social Contact on Chinese Students’ Perceptions of Japanese People

Bibliographic Data

ID6284028
AuthorsDong Wang (0000-0001-9454-3126, Beijing International Studies University), Alastair Iain Johnston (0000-0003-4238-1115, Harvard University, corresponding author), Baoyu Wang (0000-0001-7282-6897, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Year2021
Volume65
Issue1
Pages223-251
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002720942824
OpenAlexW3046001985
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited84

Social identity theory (SIT) suggests that perceived identity difference between groups predicts to intergroup conflict, including interstate conflict. Contact theory suggests that social contact between groups can help reduce intergroup conflict. Contact theory, however, has not traditionally focused on perceived identity difference, and it has not been tested much on real-world interstate conflicts. Employing an experimental design, our study tests for the effects of imagined social contact on Chinese students’ generally malign perceptions of identity difference with Japanese people. We find that imagined contact reduces key perceptions of difference by reducing both perceived Japanese malignity and perceived Chinese benignity. This suggests that social contact helps produce new hybrid in-group. By employing SIT, our findings provide a new microfoundation for contact theory, suggest an important process in the creation of security communities, and provide a proof of concept for public policies aimed at large-scale cultural exchanges

Aesthetics · Contact hypothesis · Contact theory · Group conflict · Identity (music · Perception · Social contact · Social group · Social identity theory · Cultural Differences and Values · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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