The Effects of Imagined Versus Actual Contact With a Person With a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Intergroup contact has been demonstrated to reduce prejudice toward out-groups under the right conditions; however, real contact experiences are often difficult to arrange. Imagined contact may be an alternative. The current study randomly assigned participants to imagine or to have real contact with a person with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Results demonstrated that both imagined and real contact had positive effects on attitudes toward people with schizophrenia, as compared to the effects of imagined and real interactions with an age-matched control person. We discuss the strengths and limitations of imagined contact interventions with an eye toward future research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The current research contributed to a doctoral thesis by the first author, supervised by the second two authors. We thank Richard Crisp, Stefania Paolini, and Kathy Griffiths, who provided helpful comments as reviewers of the thesis.

Notes

¹Participants also completed some additional questions of our own devising about their experience, thoughts, and feelings that are not reported here.