Concept and procedure
Following the contact hypothesis and the extended contact hypothesis, Turner and colleagues (2007) tested whether imagination alone could help, without meetings or friends' friendships. Participants who spent about two minutes imagining a relaxed, positive conversation with an outgroup stranger, such as an older person or a gay man, showed better outgroup attitudes and less anxiety than those who simply thought about the outgroup. Crisp and Turner (2009) formulated this as the imagined contact hypothesis, drawing on research showing that mental simulation evokes emotions and motivations similar to real experience.
Mechanisms and conditions
Crisp and Turner (2012) summarized that imagined contact mainly lowers intergroup anxiety, raises intentions to engage with the outgroup and prepares people for actual encounters. Husnu and Crisp (2010) showed that the effect is stronger when people elaborate on when, where and what the conversation is about. The imagined scene must be positive; negative or vague imagery may have no effect or backfire. Vezzali and colleagues (2012) showed in schools that indirect contact relating to immigrants improved adolescents' attitudes and behavioral intentions.
Meta-analysis and critiques
Miles and Crisp (2014) meta-analyzed more than 70 studies and reported small but consistent effects on attitudes, emotions, intentions and behavior. Bigler and Hughes (2010), however, questioned whether brief laboratory effects last and whether they work in real settings of deep conflict. Later large-scale replications also found effects smaller or less consistent than expected. Many therefore view imagined contact not as a substitute for direct contact but as a first step that lowers anxiety before it.
FAQ
- What is imagined contact in simple terms?
- Briefly imagining a relaxed conversation with someone from another group can reduce anxiety and prejudice toward that group.
- Does imagination alone really work?
- Meta-analyses report small but consistent effects, but whether they last and work in real conflicts is debated.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Turner, R. N., Crisp, R. J., & Lambert, E. (2007). Imagining intergroup contact can improve intergroup attitudes. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 10(4), 427–441. The first experimental demonstration of imagined contact.
- Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2009). Can imagined interactions produce positive perceptions? Reducing prejudice through simulated social contact. American Psychologist, 64(4), 231–240. The influential proposal of imagined contact as a strategy.
- Bigler, R. S., & Hughes, J. M. (2010). Reasons for skepticism about the efficacy of simulated social contact interventions. American Psychologist, 65(2), 132–133. A skeptical comment on simulated contact interventions.
- Husnu, S., & Crisp, R. J. (2010). Elaboration enhances the imagined contact effect. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46(6), 943–950. Elaborated imagery strengthens the effect.
- Vezzali, L., Stathi, S., & Giovannini, D. (2012). Indirect contact through book reading: Improving adolescents' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward immigrants. Psychology in the Schools, 49(2), 148–162. School-based indirect contact intervention with adolescents.
- Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2012). The imagined contact hypothesis. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 125–182. A comprehensive review of the imagined contact hypothesis.
- Miles, E., & Crisp, R. J. (2014). A meta-analytic test of the imagined contact hypothesis. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 17(1), 3–26. A meta-analysis of imagined contact studies.