Our ways will not change: Future collective continuity increases present prosocial considerations.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Intergroup Relations
• Collective Continuity

Background:

• Collective continuity, the perception of a group's enduring temporal existence, is often linked to ingroup favoritism and outgroup prejudice.
• Prior research primarily examined the past-present connection of groups, neglecting future-oriented perceptions.
• The concept of future collective continuity (FCC) posits that expectations of future group similarity influence intergroup attitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of future collective continuity (FCC) on present intergroup relations.
• To explore the mediating role of collective angst in the FCC-prejudice relationship.
• To examine the moderating effect of national identification on FCC's influence on intergroup attitudes.

Main Methods:

• Three studies were conducted with a total of 652 participants (N=202, N=200, N=250).
• Methods included correlational analyses and experimental designs to assess FCC, outgroup beliefs, prejudice, collective angst, and national identification.
• A moderated mediation model was employed in Study 3 to analyze the complex relationships between variables.

Main Results:

• Future collective continuity (FCC) was positively associated with prosocial outgroup beliefs and negatively associated with prejudice towards immigrants.
• FCC reduced prejudice and anxiety towards outgroups by lowering collective angst.
• The positive effects of FCC on intergroup relations were significant only for individuals with higher national identification.

Conclusions:

• The expectation that a national ingroup will remain consistent in the future (FCC) can foster more positive intergroup relations.
• FCC appears to reduce outgroup prejudice and anxiety by mitigating collective angst, particularly among highly identified group members.
• Findings suggest that a stable future outlook for the ingroup may encourage greater openness and reduced prejudice towards outgroup members.