This article was downloaded by: [George Mason University]On: 19 December 2014, At: 11:31Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH,UK

The Journal of SocialPsychologyPublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/vsoc20

Enhancing the ImaginedContact EffectSenel Husnu a & Richard John Crisp ba University of Derbyb University of KentPublished online: 07 Jan 2011.

To cite this article: Senel Husnu & Richard John Crisp (2011) Enhancing the ImaginedContact Effect, The Journal of Social Psychology, 151:1, 113-116

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224541003599043

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all theinformation (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform.However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make norepresentations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness,or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and viewsexpressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, andare not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of theContent should not be relied upon and should be independently verified withprimary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for anylosses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages,and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of theContent.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes.Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan,

sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone isexpressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Geo

rge

Mas

on U

nive

rsity

] at

11:

31 1

9 D

ecem

ber

2014

The Journal of Social Psychology, 2011, 151(1), 113–116

Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

CURRENT PROBLEMS ANDRESOLUTIONS

Enhancing the Imagined Contact Effect

SENEL HUSNUUniversity of Derby

RICHARD JOHN CRISPUniversity of Kent

ABSTRACT. Recent research has found that mentally simulating positive out-group con-tact experiences can promote tolerance and more positive intergroup perceptions. Weinvestigated two ways of enhancing this imagined contact effect. In Study 1 we foundthat asking participants to generate more detail in their imagined encounter led to expecta-tions of their having a greater number of out-group acquaintances in the future. In Study 2we found that instructing participants to close their eyes during an imagined encounter ledto heightened intentions to engage in future actual contact. These findings add further sup-port to the notion that imagining intergroup contact may be a valuable addition to existinginterventions aimed at improving intergroup relations.

Keywords: imagined contact, intergroup contact, prejudice

IMAGINED INTERGROUP CONTACT is “the mental simulation of a socialinteraction with a member or members of an outgroup category” (Crisp & Turner,2009, p. 234). Recent research has established a range of benefits associatedwith imagined contact including improved intergroup attitudes at both the explicit(Turner, Crisp & Lambert, 2007) and implicit (Turner & Crisp, 2010) levels, pro-jection of positivity (Stathi & Crisp, 2008), and reduced stereotype threat (Abramset al., 2008). The ease with which the technique can be applied, combined with

Address correspondence to Senel Husnu, Department of Psychology, University of Derby,Kedleston Road, Derby, DE22 1GB, UK; s.husnu@derby.ac.uk (e-mail).

113

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Geo

rge

Mas

on U

nive

rsity

] at

11:

31 1

9 D

ecem

ber

2014

114 The Journal of Social Psychology

its flexible and robust impact on intergroup attitudes, makes it a potentially valu-able tool for practitioners and policy makers in efforts to encourage more positiveintergroup relations (see Crisp, Stathi, Turner, & Husnu, 2008).

In this paper, we report on two studies that aimed to enhance the imaginedcontact effect through enhancing the vividness of the envisaged scenario. Whenpeople run through details of an event in their mind, imagining them in concreteand specific form often makes courses of action seem more attainable. This iswhy individuals who imagine hypothetical events are subsequently more likelyto believe they will occur (e.g. Gregory, Cialdini, & Carpenter, 1982; Pham &Taylor, 1999). Anderson (1983), for instance, found that students who inventedscenarios of themselves donating blood subsequently expressed greater intentionsto donate compared to students who had not imagined themselves doing so. Theidea is that once a behavioral script has been formed (e.g., through imaginingthe scenario), it influences one’s expectations and intentions because it is anaccessible source of diagnostic information.

In Study 1, 75 undergraduate students (25 male, 50 female, Mage = 20.7)were randomly allocated to either a simple or elaborated imagined contact con-dition. Participants assigned to the simple imagined contact condition receivedinstructions used in previous imagined contact studies: “I would like you to takea minute to imagine yourself meeting an elderly stranger for the first time. Duringthe conversation, imagine you find out some interesting and unexpected thingsabout the stranger.” Participants assigned to the elaborated imagined contact con-dition received the same instructions but with this addition: “While imaginingthis think specifically of when (e.g. next Thursday) and where (e.g. the bus stop)this conversation might occur.” Participants were then asked: “How many elderlypeople do you think you might know in 5 years time?” We reasoned that directingparticipants to focus on more concrete and specific details of the scenario theyimagined would create a more cue-rich, vivid scenario that would provide a moreavailable contact script when it came to making judgments about future contact.

Consistent with our predictions, participants estimated a higher numberof future outgroup acquaintances in the elaborated condition (M = 13.39,SD = 11.87) compared to the simple condition (M = 8.55, SD = 9.15),t (72) = −1.97, p = .05, d = 0.46. Thus, by directing participants to imaginean elaborated contact scenario, estimates of future outgroup acquaintances wereenhanced.

In Study 2, we sought to achieve this enhancement without changing the stan-dard instructions. We asked participants to either carry out the task with their eyesopen or closed. Closing one’s eyes (vs. open) has been associated with enhancedimagery ability in neuroimaging studies (Marx et al., 2003, 2004) and greaterreported vividness of imagined scenarios (Narchal & Broota, 1988). Closing one’seyes should therefore provide a simple, straightforward boost to the efficacy ofimagined contact via the same mechanism as proposed in Study 1. This would

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Geo

rge

Mas

on U

nive

rsity

] at

11:

31 1

9 D

ecem

ber

2014

Husnu & Crisp 115

provide converging evidence that anything that enhances the vividness of theimagined scenario can enhance future contact intentions.

Forty-three undergraduates (15 male, 28 female, Mage = 20.9) were randomlyallocated to either eyes open or closed conditions. Participants entered the labo-ratory and received the simple condition instructions from Study 1. Participantswere then instructed, “Please make sure that you imagine the scenario with youreyes open (eyes closed)” (alternative condition in parentheses). We measuredfuture contact intentions directly with two questions: “Thinking about the nexttime you find yourself in a situation where you could interact with an elderly per-son”; “How interested would you be in striking up a conversation?” (1 = not atall interested to 9 = highly interested); and “How much do you think you’d liketo strike up a conversation?” (1 = not at all to 9 = very much). These two itemsformed an index of future contact intentions (α = .92).

A t-test revealed that intentions to engage in future contact was significantlygreater in the eyes closed condition (M = 5.79, SD = 1.40) than the eyes opencondition (M = 4.80, SD = 1.75), t (41) = 2.04, p = .048, d = 0.64. Thus,imagining intergroup contact was more effective when participants closed theireyes than when they carried out the task with their eyes open.

These studies demonstrate two simple techniques that can be used to enhancethe imagined contact effect. We found (1) an elaborated instructional set and(2) closing one’s eyes improved future contact expectations and intentions. Thenext step will be to incorporate behavioral measures to determine the extent towhich such intentions can be translated into actual behavior. Such research willhelp establish if imagined contact can help improve contact intentions where thereis little opportunity for contact (i.e., contexts defined by high levels of socialsegregation).

Future research should also explore potential individual differences thatmight influence the effectiveness of imagined contact. For example, individualswho hold existing high levels of prejudice will likely be more resistant to the pos-itive effects of imagined contact and/or find it more difficult to generate positiveenvisaged encounters (making the instruction to think about a positive interactionan important aspect to emphasize).

The findings contribute to a growing number of studies that illustrate thepower of mental simulation in efforts to encourage tolerance and promotemore positive attitudes toward different groups. They also support the view thatinterventions that incorporate indirect contact approaches may represent highlyeffective new tools for promoting more positive intergroup relations.

AUTHOR NOTES

Senel Husnu completed her BSc and MSc at Middle East TechnicalUniversity in Turkey and her PhD at the University of Kent. She is currently

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Geo

rge

Mas

on U

nive

rsity

] at

11:

31 1

9 D

ecem

ber

2014

116 The Journal of Social Psychology

a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Derby. Her main research inter-ests focus on intergroup contact theory and the reduction of intergroup conflict.Richard John Crisp completed his BSc at the University of Oxford and his PhDat Cardiff University. He is currently Professor of Psychology and Head of theSchool of Psychology at the University of Kent. His main research interests focuson the psychology of social and cultural diversity and intergroup contact theory.

REFERENCES

Abrams, D., Crisp, R. J., Marques, S., Fagg, E., Bedford, L., & Provias, D. (2008).Threat inoculation: Experienced and imagined intergenerational contact prevent stereo-type threat effects on older people’s math performance. Psychology and Aging, 23,934–939.

Anderson, C. A. (1983). Imagination and expectation: the effect of imagining behav-ioral scripts on personal intentions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45,293–305.

Crisp, R. J., Stathi, S., Turner, R. N., & Husnu, S. (2008). Imagining intergroup con-tact: Theory, paradigm, and practice. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 3,1–18.

Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2009). Can imagined interactions produce positive percep-tions? American Psychologist, 64, 231–240.

Gregory, W. L., Cialdini, R. B., & Carpenter, K. M. (1982). Self-relevant scenarios asmediators of likelihood estimates and compliance: Does imagining make it so? Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 89–99.

Marx, E., Stephan, T., Nolte, A., Deutschlander,A., Seelos, K. C., Dieterich, M., et al.(2003). Eye closure in darkness animates sensory systems. NeuroImage, 19, 924–934.

Marx, E., Deutschlander, A., Stephan, T., Dieterich, M., Wiesmann, M., Brandt, T. (2004).Eyes open and eyes closed as rest conditions: Impact on brain activation patterns.NeuroImage, 21, 1818–1824.

Narchal, R., & Broota, K. D. (1988). Sex differences in vividness of visual imagery undereyes open and eyes closed conditions. Journal of Mental Imagery, 12, 81–88.

Pham, L. B., & Taylor, S. E. (1999). From thought to action: Effects of process-versusoutcome-based mental simulations on performance. Personality and Social PsychologyBulletin, 25, 250–260.

Stathi, S., & Crisp, R. J. (2008). Imagining intergroup contact promotes projection tooutgroups. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 943–957.

Turner, R. N., Crisp, R. J., & Lambert, E. (2007). Imagining intergroup contact can improveintergroup attitudes. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 10, 427–441.

Turner, R. N., & Crisp, R. J. (2010). Imagining intergroup contact reduces implicitprejudice. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49, 129–142.

Received July 6, 2009Accepted December 31, 2009

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Geo

rge

Mas

on U

nive

rsity

] at

11:

31 1

9 D

ecem

ber

2014