Intergroup Contact in the Wild: Characterizing Language Differences between Intergroup and Single-group Members in NBA-related Discussion Forums

TL;DR

This study analyzes how NBA fans with intergroup contact on Reddit tend to use more negative language within their groups, revealing complex relationships between intergroup interactions and behavior.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale observational analysis of intergroup contact effects on online sports fan behavior, highlighting nonlinear dynamics.

Findings

Fans with intergroup contact use more negative language

Intergroup contact correlates with increased hostility within groups

Nonlinear relationships exist between contact levels and behavior

Abstract

Intergroup contact has long been considered as an effective strategy to reduce prejudice between groups. However, recent studies suggest that exposure to opposing groups in online platforms can exacerbate polarization. To further understand the behavior of individuals who actively engage in intergroup contact in practice, we provide a large-scale observational study of intragroup behavioral differences between members with and without intergroup contact. We leverage the existing structure of NBA-related discussion forums on Reddit to study the context of professional sports. We identify fans of each NBA team as members of a group and trace whether they have intergroup contact. Our results show that members with intergroup contact use more negative and abusive language in their affiliated group than those without such contact, after controlling for activity levels. We further quantify different levels of intergroup contact and show that there may exist nonlinear mechanisms regarding how intergroup contact relates to intragroup behavior. Our findings provide complementary evidence to experimental studies in a novel context and also shed light on possible reasons for the different outcomes in prior studies.