Improving intergroup attitudes via mediated intergroup contact in a bilingual setting

This paper explores the role of mediated intergroup contact in improving intergroup attitudes between Italian speakers and German speakers in South Tyrol, Italy. Specifically, we examine how German-language television consumption affects attitudes towards the German-speaking group among Italian-speaking youth. The data (N = 229) were collected among Italian-speaking secondary school students in 2011. As expected, the results indicated that more German TV use was associated with more positive attitudes toward German speakers. A cognitive mediator (intergroup understanding) had a greater influence than an affective one (intergroup anxiety) in mediating the effect of TV use on attitudes. The effect of TV use on attitudes was greater among those who had less personal intergroup contact, but there were no differences in the effects of television based on variations in the local ethnolinguistic vitality of the two groups. Findings and implications are discussed, and suggestions for future research are made.