Abstract

Introduction: Intergroup contact is a good predictor of positive attitudes towards other groups, relationships that could be mediated by lower intergroup anxiety. These associations have been analyzed among different groups, such as nationality or religion. However, contact and attitudes among social classes have been scarcely explored. For this reason, we analyzed the mediator effect of intergroup anxiety on the relationship between intergroup contact and positive attitudes from people of lower subjective social class to those of higher subjective social class. We expected a positive relationship between contact (quantity and quality) and positive attitudes, with the mediation of lower intergroup anxiety. Method: In a non-representative Chilean sample (N = 118), we conducted regressions analyses to evaluate our hypothesis. Results: the results supported our main hypothesis, contact quantity and quality were associated with more positive attitudes toward individuals of higher subjective social class, mediated by lower intergroup anxiety. Conclusions: we discussed the implications for relationships among social classes and the limitations associated with the sample and assessment of the social class. (c) 2023 Fundacion Universitaria Konrad Lorenz. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).