Categorization and intergroup anxiety in contact between British and Japanese nationals

Two studies examined the relationship between categorization, intergroup an xiety and intel group attitudes (intergroup bias and negative affect). Stud y I consisted of a survey of 236 British and Japanese nationals. Study 2 wa s a longitudinal study of 54 Japanese students studying in the UK. Of the t hree categorization variables (interpersonal, super-ordinate and intergroup ), only intel group categorization was shown to have a relationship to gene ralized intergroup attitudes. In addition, intergroup anxiety and quality o f contact were associated with ingroup bias and negative affect to the outg roup. Study 2 revealed an interaction between intergroup categorization and quality of contact in predicting negative affect. Intergroup anxiety was a lso associated with increased intergroup categorization. It is concluded th at the effects of categorization during contact are still poorly understood and that intergroup anxiety is a far more powerful variable in contact tha n the current literature acknowledges. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons , Ltd.