2505000617
  • Open Access
  • Article
Intergroup Communication with Autistic People via Music: An Imagined Contact Study
  • Mamoru Sakura 1, *,   
  • Hyeonchang Gim 2,   
  • Jake Harwood 3

Received: 30 Jan 2025 | Revised: 02 Apr 2025 | Accepted: 09 Apr 2025 | Published: 12 May 2025

Abstract

Autistic people, as is the case with many health conditions, are subject to stigmatization. We aim to ameliorate this situation and increase positive attitudes toward autistic people. Grounded in the imagined contact hypothesis, we investigated the effect of imagined musical interaction with an autistic person on non-autistic people’s attitudes toward autistic people in general. We conducted an online experiment in which non-autistic college students (N = 443) were randomly assigned to 2 (music vs. non-musical) × 2 (autistic student vs. non-autistic student) conditions. Thus, participants imagined communicating with an autistic (or non-autistic) peer student while doing a music-related (or math-related) school activity. Imagining musical (vs. non-musical) interactions with an autistic person marginally significantly increased a sense of synchronization with the target, which then contributed to reduced social distance. Results were discussed in relation to the imagined contact hypothesis and the broader applicability of music to reduce stigma. 

References 

  • 1.
    Allport, G. W., Clark, K., & Pettigrew, T. (1954). The nature of prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
  • 2.
    Atherton, G., Sebanz, N., & Cross, L. (2019). Imagine all the synchrony: The effects of actual and imagined synchronous walking on attitudes towards marginalised groups. PLoS ONE, 14(5), e0216585. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216585.
  • 3.
    Bierce, L. F., Dickter, C. L., & Burk, J. A. (2024). Simulated contact and attitudes toward autistic adults: Effects of gender of the autistic adult and mediation by intergroup anxiety. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-023-06220-2.
  • 4.
    Birtel, M. D., & Crisp, R. J. (2012). Imagining intergroup contact is more cognitively difficult for people higher in intergroup anxiety but this does not detract from its effectiveness. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 15(6), 744–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430212443867.
  • 5.
    Bogardus, E. S. (1933). A social distance scale. Sociology & Social Research, 17, 265–271.
  • 6.
    Botha, M., & Frost, D. M. (2020). Extending the minority stress model to understand mental health problems experienced by the autistic population. Society and Mental Health, 10(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869318804297.
  • 7.
    Brown, S. (2001). The “musilanguage” model of language evolution. In N. L. Wallin, B. Merker S, & S. Brown (Eds.), The origins of music (pp. 271–300). MIT Press.
  • 8.
    Case, T., Gim, H., Gahler, H., & Harwood, J. (2022). For the love of music: Changing Whites’ stereotypes of Asians with mediated intergroup musical contact. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 15(4), 435–453. https://doi.org/10.1080/17513057.2021.1985590.
  • 9.
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, January 11). Signs & symptoms | Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/signs.html.
  • 10.
    Corrigall, K. A., & Schellenberg, E. G. (2015). Liking music: Genres, contextual factors, and individual differences. In Art, aesthetics and the brain (pp. 263–284). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199670000.003.0013.
  • 11.
    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. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014718.
  • 12.
    Crisp, R. J., & Turner, R. N. (2012). Chapter Three—The Imagined Contact Hypothesis. In J. M. Olson & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Volume 46, pp. 125–182). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394281-4.00003-9.
  • 13.
    Crompton, C. J., Ropar, D., Evans-Williams, C. V., Flynn, E. G., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2020). Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective. Autism, 24(7), 1704–1712. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320919286.
  • 14.
    Cross, I. (2003). Music and evolution: Consequences and causes. Contemporary Music Review, 22(3), 79–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0749446032000150906.
  • 15.
    Cross, L., Atherton, G., Wilson, A. D., & Golonka, S. (2017). Imagined steps: Mental simulation of coordinated rhythmic movements effects on pro-sociality. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1798. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01798.
  • 16.
    D’Ausilio, A., Novembre, G., Fadiga, L., & Keller, P. E. (2015). What can music tell us about social interaction? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(3), 111–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2015.01.005.
  • 17.
    Fleva, E. (2015). Imagined contact improves intentions towards a hypothetical peer with asperger syndrome but not attitudes towards peers with asperger syndrome in general. World Journal of Education, 5(1), 1–12.
  • 18.
    Gillespie-Lynch, K., Daou, N., Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., Kapp, S. K., Obeid, R., Brooks, P. J., Someki, F., Silton, N., & Abi-Habib, R. (2019). Factors underlying cross-cultural differences in stigma toward autism among college students in Lebanon and the United States. Autism, 23(8), 1993–2006. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318823550.
  • 19.
    Gim, H., & Harwood, J. (2024). Music and sports as catalysts for intergroup harmony: What is more effective, and why? Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, 36(2), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000385.
  • 20.
    Ginevra, M. C., Vezzali, L., Camussi, E., Capozza, D., & Nota, L. (2021). Promoting positive attitudes toward peers with disabilities: The role of information and imagined contact. Journal of Educational Psychology, 113(6), 1269–1279. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000661.
  • 21.
    Harwood, J., Qadar, F., & Chen, C. Y. (2016). Harmonious contact: Stories about intergroup musical collaboration improve intergroup attitudes. Journal of Communication, 66(6), 937–959. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12261.
  • 22.
    Harwood, J., & Wallace, S. D. (2022). Shared musical activity and perceptions of relationship commitment. Psychology of Music, 50(6), 1760–1778. https://doi.org/10.1177/03057356211058779.
  • 23.
    Hayes, A. F. (2022). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (pp. xvii, 507). Guilford Press.
  • 24.
    Howell, G. (2023). Peaces of music: Understanding the varieties of peace that music-making can foster. Peacebuilding, 11(2), 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/21647259.2022.2152974.
  • 25.
    Juslin, P. N., & Västfjäll, D. (2008). Emotional responses to music: The need to consider underlying mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 31(5), 559–575. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X08005293.
  • 26.
    Kim, S. Y., Song, D. Y., Bottema-Beutel, K., & Gillespie-Lynch, K. (2024). Time to level up: A systematic review of interventions aiming to reduce stigma toward autistic people. Autism, 28(4), 798–815. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613231205915.
  • 27.
    Koelsch, S., Grossmann, T., Gunter, T. C., Hahne, A., Schröger, E., & Friederici, A. D. (2003). Children processing music: Electric brain responses reveal musical competence and gender differences. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 15(5), 683–693. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2003.15.5.683.
  • 28.
    Konečni, V. J. (2008). Does music induce emotion? A theoretical and methodological analysis. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2(2), 115–129. https://doi.org/10.1037/1931-3896.2.2.115.
  • 29.
    Kuchenbrandt, D., van Dick, R., Koschate, M., Ullrich, J., & Bornewasser, M. (2014). More than music! A longitudinal test of German–Polish music encounters. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 40, 167–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2013.11.008.
  • 30.
    Lam, G. Y. H., Sabnis, S., Migueliz Valcarlos, M., & Wolgemuth, J. R. (2021). A critical review of academic literature constructing well-being in autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood, 3(1), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0053.
  • 31.
    Levine, J., & Hogg, M. (2010). Intergroup empathy. In Encyclopedia of group processes & intergroup relations (pp. 476–478). SAGE Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412972017.
  • 32.
    Lord, C., Brugha, T. S., Charman, T., Cusack, J., Dumas, G., Frazier, T., Jones, E. J. H., Jones, R. M., Pickles, A., State, M. W., Taylor, J. L., & Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2020). Autism spectrum disorder. Nature Reviews Disease Primers, 6(1), 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-019-0138-4.
  • 33.
    Massa, A., DeNigris, D., & Gillespie-Lynch, K. (2020). Theatre as a tool to reduce autism stigma? Evaluating ‘Beyond Spectrums’. Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 25(4), 613–630. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2020.1732810.
  • 34.
    Miles, E., & Crisp, R. J. (2014). A meta-analytic test of the imagined contact hypothesis. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 17(1), 3–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430213510573.
  • 35.
    Mitchell, P., Sheppard, E., & Cassidy, S. (2021). Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 39(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12350.
  • 36.
    Miu, A. C., & Vuoskoski, J. K. (2017). The social side of music listening: Empathy and contagion in music-induced emotions. In E. King & C. Waddington (Eds.), Music and empathy (pp. 124–138). Routledge.
  • 37.
    National Institute of Mental Health. (2023, April). Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/autism-spectrum-disorder-asd.
  • 38.
    Papadopoulos, C., Lodder, A., Constantinou, G., & Randhawa, G. (2019). Systematic review of the relationship between autism stigma and informal caregiver mental health. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(4), 1665–1685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3835-z.
  • 39.
    Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49(1), 65–85. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.49.1.65.
  • 40.
    Pettigrew, T. F.; & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.751.
  • 41.
    Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2008). How does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Meta-analytic tests of three mediators. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38(6), 922–934. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.504.
  • 42.
    Quirici, M. (2015). Geniuses without imagination: Discourses of autism, ability, and achievement. Journal of Literary & Cultural Disability Studies, 9(1), 71–88.
  • 43.
    Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2006). Message in a ballad: The role of music preferences in interpersonal perception. Psychological Science, 17(3), 236–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01691.x.
  • 44.
    Shen, L. (2010). On a scale of state empathy during message processing. Western Journal of Communication, 74(5), 504–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2010.512278.
  • 45.
    Vuoskoski, J. K.; Clarke, E. F., & DeNora, T. (2017). Music listening evokes implicit affiliation. Psychology of Music, 45(4), 584–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735616680289.
  • 46.
    Wallace, S. D., & Harwood, J. (2018). Associations between shared musical engagement and parent–child relational quality: The mediating roles of interpersonal coordination and empathy. Journal of Family Communication, 18(3), 202–216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2018.1466783.
  • 47.
    West, K., Holmes, E., & Hewstone, M. (2011). Enhancing imagined contact to reduce prejudice against people with schizophrenia. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 14(3), 407–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430210387805.
  • 48.
    Wiltermuth, S. S. (2012). Synchronous activity boosts compliance with requests to aggress. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48(1), 453–456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.10.007.
  • 49.
    Wojcieszak, M., Kim, N., & Igartua, J. J. (2020). How to enhance the effects of mediated intergroup contact? Evidence from four countries. Mass Communication and Society, 23(1), 71–106. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2019.1630444.
Share this article:
How to Cite
Sakura, M., Gim, H., & Harwood, J. (2025). Intergroup Communication with Autistic People via Music: An Imagined Contact Study. Intercultural Communication Studies, 34(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.53941/ics.2025.100001
RIS
BibTex
Copyright & License
article copyright Image
Copyright (c) 2025 by the authors.