Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology (JCASP)

Special Issue Call for Papers

The Generalization of Intergroup Contact: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Transfer Effects

Website for submissions: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/10991298/homepage/cfp-intergroupcontact

Guest Editors:

Rose Meleady (University of East Anglia, UK)
Gordon Hodson (Brock University, Canada)
Dora Capozza (University of Padova, Italy)
Sabahat Cigdem Bagci (Sabanci University, Turkey)
Jessica Boin (University of Padova, Italy)
Giulia Fuochi (University of Padova, Italy)
Sofia Stathi (University of Greenwich, UK)
Elena Trifiletti (University of Verona, Italy)
Rhiannon Turner (Queen’s University of Belfast, UK)
Loris Vezzali (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy)
Alberto Voci (University of Padova, Italy)

Manuscript Submission Deadline:

01 May, 2024

Rationale of the Special Issue:

Intergroup contact is widely recognised as successful means to improve intergroup attitudes. However, we know surprisingly little about its more distal consequences. It has recently been argued that contact with outgroups can draw into question one’s own set of beliefs and provide impetuous for mental change and integration of new ideas (Hodson, Crisp, Meleady & Earle, 2019). As such, intergroup contact is expected not only to improve attitudes towards the encountered outgroup (i.e., primary transfer effect), and other non-contacted groups (i.e., secondary transfer effects), but also to promote more flexible and open-minded ways of thinking generally (i.e., tertiary transfer effects, Meleady, Crisp, Hodson, & Earle, 2019).

The aim of this special issue is to consider new evidence for the generalized consequences of intergroup contact at each of these levels – primary, secondary and tertiary transfer effects. Understanding how contact, in its multi-faceted forms (e.g., face-to-face, indirect, simulated), also impacts multifaceted outcomes is key to establishing contact’s fuller potential. We hope that this special issue will serve as a call for contact researchers to expand the range of outcomes under investigation to better capture the power of contact not only to increase social harmony, but to change the way people think about the world and solve problems more generally. This special issue may also help understanding how changes in intergroup harmony relate to more generalized outcomes, showing the interconnection between intergroup attitudes and the general functioning of individuals. It will also allow to better define the potential of intergroup contact beyond intergroup relations to foster community’s well-being in its broadest sense, designing new paths for research in intergroup contact.

Expected contributions for the Special Issue:

We welcome papers exploring the generalization of intergroup contact effects. Papers that consider outcomes that move beyond intergroup relations are of particular interest. We are interested in papers that consider the mechanisms that underlie and condition each of these generalization effects, as well as papers that test causal or temporal predictions. We are also interested in critical articles that reflect on and examine the limitations of existing evidence of intergroup contact generalization effects.

In line with our commitment to research transparency and reflexivity, authors will be encouraged to include a positionality statement in their submission, as well as a constraint on generality statement (Simons et al., 2017). These statements should note how the identities of the authors, individually or collectively, relate to the research topic and to the research context and participants, and explicitly identify the theoretical and empirical boundaries of the claims made in terms of generalizability of the specific research findings.

For more information please see journal webpage dedicated to this special issue: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/10991298/homepage/cfp-intergroupcontact

Questions? Feel free to contact Gordon Hodson (ghodson@brocku.ca) or any of the Guest Editors.