Specific emotions elicited during valenced imagined intergroup encounters as mediators of the contact-prejudice relationship: the diverse effects of anger, fear, and sadness

Research on specific emotions as mediators of the contact-prejudice relationship has recently expanded to examine emotions elicited in valenced (positive/negative) contact and how they affect intergroup outcomes. Research to date, however, has examined a narrow list of emotions omitting emotions like sadness, previously found to shape outgroup judgments. It has also operationalised emotions as habitually experienced affect towards the outgroup as opposed to emotions experienced in an encounter. To address these gaps, we conducted two experiments with young Greek Cypriots (<i>N</i> = 96; <i>N</i> = 183) in the post-conflict society of Cyprus examining which emotions are elicited during positive vs. negative imagined contact with the outgroup (Turkish Cypriots) and whether they mediate the effect of valenced contact on prejudice. Findings indicate that all emotions under study were significant mediators for some intergroup outcomes, albeit in different ways. More Joy was associated with more positive and less negative intergroup outcomes, while the reverse was the case for all negative emotions except for Sadness. Sadness was associated with higher positive attitudes and approach intentions, and lower intergroup anxiety and avoidance intentions. We discuss how these preliminary results link to prior literature and how they can inform future studies, while also acknowledging our study's limitations.