Open your eyes, open your mind: The profile of cognitive liberalization and intergroup contact experiences

Abstract

According to the cognitive liberalization hypothesis, exposure to intergroup contact improves cognitive outcomes related to open-mindedness and out-of-the-box thinking. In a sample of Italian adults (N = 708), we: (a) investigated the profile of cognitive liberalization through a latent profile analysis including cognitive (i.e., cognitive flexibility, socio-cognitive mindfulness, curiosity and low need for structure) and socio-cultural (i.e., deprovincialization, beliefs supporting societal diversity and low social dominance orientation [SDO]) dimensions of cognitive liberalization; (b) tested how intergroup contact experiences differed between the profile of cognitive liberalization and the other profiles. Results showed three profiles: Cognitive Liberalization (high scores in both cognitive and socio-cultural dimensions of cognitive liberalization), Cognitive Rigidity (low scores on cognitive, high scores in socio-cultural dimensions) and Anti-Liberalization (low scores on all liberalization variables). Individuals belonging to the Cognitive Liberalization profile reported less negative, and more positive and intimate contact experiences with the outgroup compared with the other two profiles; they had a higher proportion of outgroup members in their acquaintances, and perceived those outgroup members involved in positive contact as more representative of their outgroup. Diversity of contacted outgroup members did not matter for the profiles. Close and positive relationships with the outgroup could be key to cognitive liberalization. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.