LE3 .A278 2023

2023

MacInnis, Cara

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Psychology

Psychology

Greater intergroup contact – that is, greater contact with people belonging to a different social group (e.g., racial, religious, sexual orientation group) than one’s own – is reliably associated with lower prejudice. Although this relationship is well-established, less is known about how intergroup contact is associated with more active outcomes tied to social change, such as collective action (i.e., behaviour taken on behalf of a disadvantaged group aimed to benefit the disadvantaged group). Collective action is needed to fight inequity in many intergroup contexts, with one salient context in Canada being relations between White and Indigenous people. I investigated associations between several forms of intergroup contact and collective action intentions in this context. I examined associations between intergroup contact and established predictors of collective action (identification with the cause, anger about injustice, and feelings f efficacy). I expected there to be associations between greater intergroup contact and collective action intentions that are mediated by anger, identification, and/or efficacy. I also investigated the potential influence of “extended” discrimination – that is, learning about or witnessing an Indigenous friend’s discrimination. To investigate this question, I conducted a cross-sectional survey study with White-Canadian crowdsourced participants (N = 451). I used self-report, psychometrically validated measures of the variables of interest. Linear regression analyses suggest, consistent with expectations, that White people in Canada are more likely to show collective action intentions if they have high quality contact and socially identify with Indigenous causes.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3976