Effect of Imagined Contact in Reducing Explicit Prejudice toward Outgroups in Japan

Abstract

The feasibility of the imagined contact approach on reducing prejudice toward Koreans was tested on Japanese samples. Two studies were conducted to probe into the effectiveness of this method. In study 1, participants (N = 96) were asked to respond to social distance, intergroup anxiety and realistic threat perceived toward Koreans and Chinese, in order to determine if indeed, they exhibit prejudice against these ethnic groups. Results showed that social distance and intergroup anxiety predict outgroup evaluation and acceptance. Also, Japanese hold more negative images toward Koreans. In Study 2, participants (N = 160) were randomly divided into three groups: positive imagined contact condition; negative imagined contact condition; and control condition. They read and imagined about a scenario, describing intergroup contact between themselves and someone of Korean background. Results indicated that those who imagined a positive contact showed greater positive attitude toward Koreans, while those in the negative and control groups were less favorable. The latter two groups did not significantly differ in any measure, suggesting that negative imagined contact did not affect outgroup attitudes. These finding suggest that imagined contact has potential in reducing prejudice toward outgroups in a relatively ethnically homogeneous society, such as Japan.

Keywords

Intergroup attitude / prejudice / imagined contact / intergroup anxiety

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