The Social and Organisational Psychology Research Group is proud to invite you to a research presentation of our E&D series by Dr Tabea Hassler, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich.
Everybody is welcome! Please note the non-standard SOPRG time to accommodate time difference with Europe.
WHEN: Tuesday 01st June, 4-5pm
WHERE: Keats Reading Room, Psychology Building, Callaghan and
via Zoom: https://uonewcastle.zoom.us/j/87207597073?pwd=UytxTFhSeDhEQi9mblFjbTRyMzJyUT09 [pw: 384486]
ABSTRACT: The implications of intergroup contact theory for those who are interested in promoting greater equality are extensive. Positive contact reduces prejudice and fosters social harmony by promoting positive outgroup attitudes (Brown & Hewstone, 2005; Lemmer & Wagner, 2015; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). Yet, some scholars have cautioned that these benevolent effects might come at the price of perpetuating inequalities (Dixon et al., 2007; Saguy et al., 2009). To better understand this so-called “irony of harmony effect”, I encouraged 43 researchers from 23 countries to team up and survey 12'997 participants in the context of ethnicity and sexual orientation/gender identity.
In this talk, I will present our key papers as well as current follow-up projects. In paper 1 (Hässler et al., 2020), we demonstrate that intergroup contact is associated with more support for social change among advantaged group members, but with less support for social change among disadvantaged group members. However, adding to previous analyses, the current work found that the size and even the direction of the effect varied substantially depending on the measures of contact and support for social change. In paper 2 (Hässler et al., 2021), we show that satisfaction of need for empowerment is positively associated with support for social change among disadvantaged groups. Our follow-up projects aim at a) understanding the variability between countries, b) examining the causal impact of contact on support for social change, and c) make use of the rich dataset (for more information see https://intergroupproject.wixsite.com/intergroup).
BIO: Tabea Hässler is a senior research associate at the University of Zurich and a visiting scholar at the University College Dublin. Her research focuses on responses to inequalities among members of diverse advantaged and disadvantaged groups in the context of ethnicity, gender (identity), and sexual orientation. Furthermore, she investigates under which circumstances people support collective action toward greater social equality.
For more information on this transnational program of research, see here:
If you want to make contact with Dr Hassler, please email Stefi at Stefania.Paolini@Newcastle.edu.au
