Testing the effects of political rhetoric towards muslims as a facilitator and barrier for intergroup contact

Intergroup contact fosters positive social relations, and politicians often use rhetoric to shape intergroup attitudes. However, the impact of political rhetoric on future intergroup contact remains unexplored. This paper addresses this gap by examining how rhetoric influences contact readiness towards Muslims. We conducted two experiments in which non-Muslim participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: exposure to positive political rhetoric about Muslims, negative rhetoric, or a control condition. In Study 1, exposure to negative rhetoric did not significantly affect contact readiness. In contrast, positive rhetoric led to more positive perceptions of future contact, with higher intergroup trust and lower intergroup anxiety. Study 2, using a higher-powered sample, also showed positive rhetoric increased positive contact perceptions but only linked to intergroup trust. It also found positive rhetoric led to greater intentions for future contact. Negative rhetoric continued to show no direct effect on contact readiness but had conditional effects; it predicted higher intergroup anxiety and less positive contact perceptions among individuals with lower social dominance orientation. Overall, findings indicate political rhetoric, serving as a form of vicarious intergroup contact, can influence public willingness for intergroup interactions.