Contact, Empathy, and Shared Identity: Experimental Evidence from Cyprus

• In Event: Complex Interactions in Civil Wars

Abstract

How does extended intergroup contact—whereby an individual learns of the contact experiences of others—shape attitudes toward an ethnic outgroup? We identify two pathways through which contact may work: by activating empathy and by building a shared identity. Because extended contact alters beliefs about the social norms of one’s ingroup and outgroup, we further hypothesize that the effects should be greatest among individuals for whom ethnic (ingroup) identity is highly salient. We test these insights in the context of Cyprus—a frozen conflict marked by rigid physical separation of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Employing a survey experiment on a representative sample of Greek Cypriot adults, we find that cueing the empathetic and cultural (superordinate identity) aspects of extended intergroup contact is associated with changed attitudes toward the outgroup, but only among certain segments of the population. The treatments have a significant effect among the highly religious—an indicator of salient Greek ethnic identity—and among those with little experience of direct contact with Turkish Cypriots.

Authors

• Daniela Donno, University of Cyprus

• Omer Zarpli, University of Pittsburgh