Further Evidence for the Role of Felt Understanding in Intergroup Relations: Japanese and Chinese Relations in Japan1

Abstract

Felt understanding in intergroup context is the belief that members of an outgroup understand and accept ingroup members' perspectives. A series of studies in Europe recently conducted by Andrew Livingstone and colleagues showed the unique effect of felt understanding in intergroup relations. The effects were apparent even when controlling for outgroup beliefs and metabeliefs. The present article reports a cross-cultural replication of those findings for Japanese and Chinese relations in Japan. Consistent with the results of Livingstone and colleagues, felt understanding uniquely predicted intergroup outcomes (e.g., action intentions, outgroup trust, and intergroup orientation). The effects remained significant after adjusting for multiplicity with multiple variables. However, there were two differences. Felt understanding did not predict (a) negative approach intentions or (b) institutional trust.