DOES INTERGROUP CONTACT HAVE THE SAME EFFECT ON THE MINORITY AND MAJORITY? THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERGROUP CONTACTS, PERCEPTION OF INTERGROUP THREAT AND WILLINGNESS TO TAKE COLLECTIVE ACTION

The aim of the research was to examine the moderating role of the group sta-tus (minority or majority) on the relationship between intergroup contact and willin-gness to get involved in a collective action with the aim of reducing inequalities of the persons with homosexual orientation with regard to the heterosexual majority. Additionally, the aim was to analyse the moderating role of the group status on the relationship between intergroup contact and perceived intergroup threat. The research was conducted via online survey on a sample of 286 respondents out of whom there were 187 heterosexual persons and 99 members of the LGBTIQ popu-lation. The respondents completed a survey which included a measure of quality of contact with the members of the other group, the scale of perceived symbolic threat and the scale of willingness to take collective action aimed at the improvement of the position of the LGBTIQ population. The results show a significant connection between intergroup contact and willingness to take collective action and perceived intergroup threat. The moderating role of the group status was confirmed, whereas on the sample of heterosexual persons a more positive contact with the members of the other group increases willingness to take collective action, while for homo-sexual persons the intergroup contact is not connected with the willingness to take collective action. Furthermore, the moderating role of the group status was confir-med on the relationship between the quality of contact and perception of symbolic threat, at which a more positive contact with the members of the other group was connected with the reduced perception of that group as a threat in both samples of respondents, but a higher effect of it was observed in the case of heterosexual persons. The results are analysed from the perspective of the contact theory and the neglected role of group status in that context.