The relationship between imagined intergroup contact and common ingroup identity: The mediating effects of perceived intergroup similarity and recategorization

Abstract

Research on common ingroup identification has mostly focused on the outcome variables and potential benefits of common ingroup identification, but little is known about the formation pathways and mechanisms of common ingroup identification. Based on the common ingroup identification model and intergroup contact theory, this study employs four experiments to explore the effects of imagined intergroup contact on common ingroup identification, as well as the serial mediation effects of perceived intergroup similarity and recategorization. The results of the study indicate that: (1) imagined intergroup contact promoted common ingroup identification; (2) perceived intergroup similarity mediated the relationship between imagined intergroup contact and common ingroup identification; (3) recategorization also played a mediating role in this relationship; and (4) both perceived intergroup similarity and recategorization played the serial mediation roles between imagined intergroup contact and common ingroup identification. This research extends the findings of imagined intergroup contact to the domain of deeper group identity effects and reveals the formation pathways and mechanisms of common ingroup identification.