Breaking barriers, crossing borders, building bridges: Communication processes in intergroup dialogues

Research in intergroup contact and intergroup education is increasingly focused on the psychological and pedagogical processes to explain the impact of interventions on desired outcomes. This emerging scholarship has enriched our understanding about what types of interventions are effective or not and how these interventions impact outcomes of prejudice reduction and social inclusion. In the present study, a new theoretical dimension of processes operating in intergroup contact and educa-tion is investigated: communication processes. Factor analyses of communication processes within an intergroup encounter, using data from a pretest/posttest design with a diverse group of students (n = 211), revealed four factors: (1) appreciating difference, (2) engaging self, (3) critical self-reflection, and (4) alliance building. Furthermore, path analysis shows that these communication processes fully medi-ate the impact of intergroup dialogue on bridging differences. The communication processes illuminate a deeper understanding of what happens within the context of intergroup encounters and provide a link between pedagogical strategies and psychological processes. Pettigrew’s (1998) reformulation of intergroup contact theory proposed friendship potential as an essential fifth condition for optimal contact, in addition to Allport’s (1954) original conditions of authority sanction, equal group status, common goals, and intergroup cooperation. Going beyond simple acquaintance potential (described by Cook, 1962), friendship potential involves interactions that ∗Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Biren (Ratnesh) A. Nagda