The joint effects of imagined contact and similarity with the protagonist of testimonial messages through identification and transportation

Abstract

Two experiments carried out in Spain and the Netherlands tested the joint effects of imagined contact and similarity with a narrative protagonist on attitudes and behavioral intentions related to stigmatized immigrants. We advance a concept of optimal reception condition: imagining a positive interaction with an immigrant before reading a testimonial of an immigrant who is similar to the native audience. The optimal reception condition induced greater identification and transportation than the reference condition, leading to more positive attitudes and a higher intention of intergroup contact. The findings are discussed in the context of research on narrative persuasion and prejudice reduction.