An experimental study of the effect of intergroup contact on attitudes in urban China

Jun Gu, Ingrid Nielsen*, Jason Shachat, Russell Smyth, Yujia Peng

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A large body of literature attests to the growing social divide between urban residents and rural–urban migrants in China’s cities. This study uses a randomised experiment to test the effect of intergroup contact on attitudes between a group of urban adolescents and a group of rural–urban migrant adolescents. Results showed that intergroup contact in the form of a fun and cooperative puzzle task significantly reduced negative attitudes toward the other group. Implications for desegregated schooling and their broader societal implications in China are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2991-3006
Number of pages16
JournalUrban Studies
Volume53
Issue number14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • attitudes
  • China
  • contact hypothesis
  • experimental methods
  • intergroup contact

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An experimental study of the effect of intergroup contact on attitudes in urban China'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this