Why Do We Hold Mixed Emotions About Racial Out-Groups? A Case for Affect Matching

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Intergroup Relations
• Attitude Formation

Background:

• Understanding intergroup contact's impact on prejudice reduction is crucial.
• Existing research explores how contact influences attitudes toward racial out-groups.
• The differential effects of positive versus negative contact require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test novel predictions on how positive and negative intergroup contact predict warmth and anger.
• To compare three competing hypotheses regarding the influence of contact on emotions.
• To investigate the phenomenon of 'affect matching' in intergroup attitudes.

Main Methods:

• A four-wave survey was conducted on a national probabilistic sample (N = 17,399).
• The study examined the relationship between positive/negative contact and warmth/anger toward racial out-groups.
• Statistical analyses were used to test competing hypotheses, including affect matching.

Main Results:

• Clear evidence for affect matching was found.
• Negative contact was disproportionately associated with anger, while positive contact was associated with warmth.
• The strength of negative contact's association with anger exceeded its association with warmth.

Conclusions:

• Positive and negative feelings toward out-groups are linked to qualitatively distinct contact experiences.
• Affect matching provides a more nuanced understanding of intergroup contact effects than simple 'bad is stronger than good' models.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering the valence of contact when predicting intergroup emotions.