Our ways will not change: Future collective continuity increases present prosocial considerations

Collective continuity, the perception of the ingroup as an enduring temporal entity, has been linked with ingroup favouritism, negative attitudes and prejudice towards the outgroups. However, previous studies focused mainly on the perceived connection between the past and present of the group. We proposed that the expectation of a strong similarity between the present and future of the national ingroup, future collective continuity (FCC), positively affects present intergroup relations construals. In line with the hypotheses, Study 1 (N = 202) showed a positive relation between FCC and prosocial outgroup beliefs (i.e., foreigner-related). Study 2 (N = 200) suggested that FCC negatively affects prejudice towards immigrants through lower levels of collective angst. Study 3 (N = 250; preregistered) provided experimental evidence that FCC decreased outgroup prejudice and anxiety and increased collective action intentions through collective angst. Furthermore, a moderated mediation model revealed that these effects held only for individuals who identified with their nation more. Our work suggests that believing that the ingroup will not significantly change in the future might make individuals more open towards outgroup members in the present.