Intergroup fears and concerns among minority and majority groups: Implications for contact and attitudes

Aims: Driven by the literature on pluralistic ignorance, our research investigates fear of appearing racist, being rejected, discriminated, and disinterest in intergroup contact as antecedents of contact and outgroup attitudes, focusing on attributional differences between the majority and minority group perspectives. Methods: Questionnaires were distributed in schools in Northern Italy. Participants were 400 Italian and 141 immigrant high-school students. Results: The results showed that the lack of interest in contact was the strongest predictor of contact for the majority group. For the minority group, fear of rejection emerged as the strongest predictor. The majority group attributed the minority to avoid contact most strongly due to the fear that they would be rejected, and the minority group perceived it was due to the majority not being interested in contact. Conclusion: Our research contributes to understanding the divergent concerns the majority and minority groups have in relation to intergroup contact and discusses the importance of tackling these concerns.