(How) does positive and negative extended cross-group contact predict direct cross-group contact and intergroup attitudes?

Knowing that fellow ingroup members have cross-group contact can affect how people think, feel, and behave towards an out-group. Previous research on extended contact focused almost exclusively on positive cross-group interactions, neglecting the fact that extended contact can also be negative. In this contribution, we introduce negative extended contact and investigate how both forms of extended contact predict direct cross-group contact and intergroup attitudes. In two cross-sectional studies (N₁=286, N₂=237), we found evidence that positive and negative extended contact uniquely predict intergroup attitudes, and that direct cross-group contact mediates this effect. In Study 2, we also provide initial evidence that extended contact might either prepare for or impair direct contact by changing ingroup norms and intergroup self-efficacy, which in turn influence feelings of intergroup anxiety.