Remember the Good Times: Does Savoring a Previous Intergroup Interaction Increase Whites' Positive Intergroup Emotions and Willingness to Develop Future Intergroup Friendships?
type: CreativeWork
description: Although racial prejudice remains a prevalent social phenomenon, research has demonstrated that positive contact - most notably intergroup friendship - predicts decreased prejudice. Whites, however, may be hesitant to develop intergroup friendships because they experience negative emotions like anxiety when faced with the prospect of interacting with outgroup members (i.e., Blacks). Past research has countered this obstacle by relying on manipulations that reframe how individuals feel about intergroup interactions to increase willingness to engage with outgroup members. Building on this framework, I tested whether savoring a previous intergroup interaction could increase friendship willingness by increasing positive intergroup emotions (Study 1) and whether processing style would moderate this effect (Study 2). Results indicated that although White individuals were able to savor previous interactions with Blacks, encouraging them to do so did little to increase intergroup friendship willingness and this effect was not mediated by positive intergroup emotions. Moreover, processing style did not moderate this effect. However, trait savoring was linked with both positive intergroup emotions and increased intergroup friendship willingness. These findings suggest that although savoring a previous intergroup interaction may not be an effective way to encourage intergroup friendship willingness, individual differences in the capacity to savor may explain why some are more willing to seek intergroup friendships.
abstract: Although racial prejudice remains a prevalent social phenomenon, research has demonstrated that positive contact - most notably intergroup friendship - predicts decreased prejudice. Whites, however, may be hesitant to develop intergroup friendships because they experience negative emotions like anxiety when faced with the prospect of interacting with outgroup members (i.e., Blacks). Past research has countered this obstacle by relying on manipulations that reframe how individuals feel about intergroup interactions to increase willingness to engage with outgroup members. Building on this framework, I tested whether savoring a previous intergroup interaction could increase friendship willingness by increasing positive intergroup emotions (Study 1) and whether processing style would moderate this effect (Study 2). Results indicated that although White individuals were able to savor previous interactions with Blacks, encouraging them to do so did little to increase intergroup friendship willingness and this effect was not mediated by positive intergroup emotions. Moreover, processing style did not moderate this effect. However, trait savoring was linked with both positive intergroup emotions and increased intergroup friendship willingness. These findings suggest that although savoring a previous intergroup interaction may not be an effective way to encourage intergroup friendship willingness, individual differences in the capacity to savor may explain why some are more willing to seek intergroup friendships.
author: Harrison, Patrick R.
keywords: Intergroup Friendship, Intergroup Relations, Positive Psychology, Social Psychology
date published: 2014-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:55:56Z
provider: Loyola University Chicago
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Loyola University Chicago