Dynamics of outgroup attitudes in peer networks: Testing the effects of socialization, contact, and selection

Intergroup attitudes can be positively influenced by peers, but it remains unclear whether this occurs primarily through ingroup socialization or outgroup contact. Prior studies concurrently exploring both pathways have yielded mixed results. This paper introduces two key factors, ingroup identification and interpersonal dislike, as potentially moderating or counteracting the effects of these processes. We incorporate these factors into a comprehensive statistical model that accounts for various mechanisms associated with outgroup attitude change, including peer influence, ingroup and outgroup contact, ethnic and attitudinal homophily in friendship selection, and general relationship formation dynamics. Using stochastic actor-oriented modeling (SAOM), we analyze longitudinal data on coevolving networks and attitudes among 380 German secondary school adolescents. Our findings show that both outgroup contact among German adolescents and ingroup socialization significantly influence outgroup attitude change. However, interpersonal dislike and ingroup identification do not play a meaningful role in these processes.