Intergroup contact asymmetries moderate how much anxiety shapes outgroup attitudes by status
Evidence
As for anxiety, members of low status groups likely have more experience interacting with higher status outgroups than members of high status groups have interacting with lower status outgroups. Thus, relatively low status group members may have adapted to the anxiety associated with interacting with higher status outgroups, which may reduce the impact of anxiety on their outgroup attitudes. However, if high status group members have little experience interacting with low status outgroup members, the anxiety they experience may have a large impact on their outgroup attitudes. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 130
Categorization
- XREF: Connects to intergroup contact theory and the reader’s broader threat-perception synthesis; echoes Allport’s contact hypothesis conditions. — connects to: Group status determines whether advantage or disadvantage thoughts produce distress — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 438; Negative outgroup contact raises anxiety, which breeds hostility and contact avoidance. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 47; Four threat types explain 36 percent of variance in outgroup attitudes — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 105 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Group status moderates threat-attitude relationships
#expands(0.88) — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 152 - Threat effects on attitudes are stronger for low-status than high-status outgroups
#qualifies(0.82) — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup Attitudes, 129 - Low-status group members habituate to cross-group anxiety more than high-status members do
#qualifies(0.75)