Shamloo Soraya E, Carnaghi Andrea, Fantoni Carlo
Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy.
PeerJ. 2018 Sep 27;6:e5680. doi: 10.7717/peerj.5680. eCollection 2018.
Recent research has shown that a brief, casual touch administered by an outgroup member reduces prejudice towards the group to which the toucher belongs. In this study, we take the research on physical contact and prejudice a step further by addressing the relation between individuals' amount of Experienced Intergroup Physical Contact (EIPC), across distinct contexts and involving different body parts, and attitudes towards foreign people. Specifically, we hypothesized that the amount of EIPC would be positively associated with both quantity and quality of intergroup contact, but that only quality would mediate the relationship between the amount of EIPC and outgroup attitudes, quality being more directly linked to the evaluative component of outgroup attitudes. To attain this aim, we asked participants to self-report the amount of EIPC, the quantity and quality of their intergroup contact and their attitudes towards foreign people. Consistent with our hypothesis: (1) as EIPC increased, positive attitudes towards foreign people increased; (2) higher levels of EIPC were associated with better quality and higher quantity of intergroup contact; (3) only quality of intergroup contact mediated the relationship between the amount of EIPC and attitudes towards foreign people. Results were discussed in relation to research on intergroup contact and physical contact.
近期研究表明，外群体成员给予的短暂、随意的触碰能减少对触碰者所属群体的偏见。在本研究中，我们通过探讨个体在不同情境下、涉及不同身体部位的经历的群体间身体接触（EIPC）量与对外籍人士的态度之间的关系，将身体接触与偏见的研究进一步推进。具体而言，我们假设EIPC量与群体间接触的数量和质量均呈正相关，但只有质量会介导EIPC量与外群体态度之间的关系，质量与外群体态度的评价成分联系更为直接。为实现这一目标，我们要求参与者自我报告EIPC量、群体间接触的数量和质量以及他们对外籍人士的态度。与我们的假设一致：（1）随着EIPC的增加，对外籍人士的积极态度增加；（2）更高水平的EIPC与更好的群体间接触质量和更高的接触数量相关；（3）只有群体间接触质量介导了EIPC量与对外籍人士态度之间的关系。研究结果结合群体间接触和身体接触的研究进行了讨论。
