We conducted one experimental intervention based on extended contact principles aimed at fostering the formation of cross-group friendships within educational settings. Italian school children took part in a school competition for the best essay on personal experiences of cross-group friendships with immigrants, to be written in small groups. This manipulation was intended to favour the exchange of personal positive cross-group experiences, thus capitalizing on the benefits of extended contact. In the control condition, participants wrote an essay on friendship, without reference to cross-group relations. Results revealed that children who took part in the intervention reported a higher number of outgroup friends 3 months later. This indirect effect was sequentially mediated by pro-contact ingroup and outgroup norms and by outgroup contact behavioural intentions. This study provides experimental evidence that interventions based on extended contact can foster cross-group friendship formation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

‘And the best essay is…’: Extended contact and cross-group friendships at school / Vezzali, Loris; Stathi, Sofia; Giovannini, Dino; Capozza, Dora; Visintin, Emilio Paolo. - In: BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 0144-6665. - STAMPA. - 54:4(2015), pp. 601-615. [10.1111/bjso.12110]

‘And the best essay is…’: Extended contact and cross-group friendships at school

VEZZALI, Loris;GIOVANNINI, Dino;
2015

Abstract

We conducted one experimental intervention based on extended contact principles aimed at fostering the formation of cross-group friendships within educational settings. Italian school children took part in a school competition for the best essay on personal experiences of cross-group friendships with immigrants, to be written in small groups. This manipulation was intended to favour the exchange of personal positive cross-group experiences, thus capitalizing on the benefits of extended contact. In the control condition, participants wrote an essay on friendship, without reference to cross-group relations. Results revealed that children who took part in the intervention reported a higher number of outgroup friends 3 months later. This indirect effect was sequentially mediated by pro-contact ingroup and outgroup norms and by outgroup contact behavioural intentions. This study provides experimental evidence that interventions based on extended contact can foster cross-group friendship formation. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
2015
15-apr-2015
54
4
601
615
‘And the best essay is…’: Extended contact and cross-group friendships at school / Vezzali, Loris; Stathi, Sofia; Giovannini, Dino; Capozza, Dora; Visintin, Emilio Paolo. - In: BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 0144-6665. - STAMPA. - 54:4(2015), pp. 601-615. [10.1111/bjso.12110]
Vezzali, Loris; Stathi, Sofia; Giovannini, Dino; Capozza, Dora; Visintin, Emilio Paolo
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1078679
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