Face-to-face versus digital intergroup contact: links with diversity ideology, social self-efficacy, self-expansion, and loneliness

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.4473/TPM31.1.1

Contact between group members enhances intergroup perceptions and attitudes. In a world where people spend more time online, people also engage in digital intergroup contact (mainly through social networking services). The potential outcomes of digital contact, particularly in relation to social well-being, are yet to be fully explored. Using a correlational design, the current research (N = 398) tested quantity and quality of both digital and face-to-face intergroup (specifically, interethnic) contact as simultaneous predictors of diversity ideology, social self-efficacy, self-expansion, and loneliness. Results indicated that when tested as simultaneous predictors, only quantity and quality of face-to-face contact predicted more positive diversity ideology, greater self-expansion, and less loneliness. Quality of face-to-face contact also moderated the role of digital contact quality on diversity ideology and self-expansion. The association between different modes of intergroup contact and individual outcomes beyond prejudice is discussed in light of recent developments in contact literature.