Intergroup Contact as an Agent of Cognitive Liberalization
Intergroup Contact as an Agent of Cognitive Liberalization
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DOI：
10.1177/1745691617752324
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发表时间：
2018-09-01
影响因子：
12.6
通讯作者：
Earle, Megan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hodson, Gordon;Crisp, Richard J.;Earle, Megan
群体间接触被广泛认为是改善对群体外态度的最有效的方法之一。然而，除了这个功能之外，群体间的接触还有什么好处呢？为了回答这个问题，我们对文献进行了全面的研究，首先认识到接触是多方面的，包括形式（例如，面对面，间接，模拟）和结果（例如，态度，认知，行为）。从这个高度包容的角度来看，接触是什么以及接触的作用表明，它在塑造人类认知方面起着重要作用。越来越多的研究表明，接触在目标外群体中产生了一种一般化的反应，使受访者不那么内向，更愿意接受经验。接触塑造了关于世界应该如何运作的意识形态（即关于社会等级或规则的意识形态）；随着时间的推移，它可以促进解决问题的新方法，增强认知灵活性，培养创造力。基于这些原因，我们认为接触是塑造人类认知和经验的关键自由化因素；因此，接触理论现在应该与其他突出的理论（例如，认知失调）分享舞台，这些理论对人性有更广泛的理解。
Intergroup contact is widely recognized as one of the most validated methods of improving attitudes toward out-groups. Yet what is intergroup contact good for beyond this function? To answer this question we take a panoramic view of the literature, beginning with the recognition that contact is multifaceted in both form (e.g., face-to-face, indirect, simulated) and outcome (e.g., attitudes, cognition, behavior). Taking this highly inclusive view of what contact is and what contact does suggests that it plays a fundamental role in the shaping of human cognition. An increasingly diverse body of research demonstrates that contact exerts a generalizing reaction across target out-groups, making respondents less inward looking and more open to experiences. Contact shapes ideology regarding how the world ought to operate (i.e., ideologies about social hierarchy or regulation); over time, it can promote new ways of problem-solving, enhance cognitive flexibility, and foster creativity. For these reasons, we believe that contact is a key liberalizing agent that shapes human cognition and experience; consequently, contact theory should now share the stage with other prominent theories (e.g., cognitive dissonance) that speak to a broader understanding of human nature.