Effects of online intergroup contact on outgroup attitudes and collective action

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of advantaged and disadvantaged groups' online contact with certain identity representations on their outgroup attitudes and collective action orientations. Another aim is to understand effects of factors thought to play moderator (subgroup identification level) and mediator (social presence, legitimacyperception and common group identification level) role in the relationship between contact and collective action orientation. The data of the research were collected from the students of Çukurova University (CU) and Adana Alparslan Turkes Science and Technology University (ATÜ), which are located in the same province and differ in terms of opportunities offered to students.Participants were assigned to one of three groups (Experiment 1: Common ingroup identity, Experiment 2: Dual identity, Control Group: Individual identity) in which different identity representations were made clear,and they were in contact withfour peopleon text-based platform for one month. Measurements were taken from the participants two weeks before the contact (368 participants: 212 ATU, 156 CU), immediately after the contact (159 participants: 98 ATU, 61 CU) and a month after the contact (138 participants: 84 ATU, 54 CU). Analysis has shown that the attitudes of the experimental groups towards the outgroup members differ significantly from each other, but collective action orientation and perception of the legitimacy of experimental groups are similar.In addition, it was understood that the effects of online contact on attitudes towards the outgroup members and the collective action orientation appeared differently in advantaged and disadvantaged group members, and therefore the reflections of online contact on these processes were related to the group's position.The results of the analysis on mediator and moderator variables revealed that the moderator role of the level of identification with the subgroup is not significant, and the social presence and legitimacy perception mediates the relationship between the processes under consideration.Results were evaluated in the lights of the literature, the strengths and limitations of the study were identified and suggestions were made for future research.