Direct and Extended Cross-Group Contact in South Tyrol: Effects on Attitudes and Identification of 'German' and 'Italian' Students

The present research is part of the project “South Tyrolean School Students and the Second Language (L2): a Linguistic and Socio-Psychological Investigation†. Information on intergroup relations and motivation to L2 learning of German- and Italian-speaking students from the Province of Bolzano was gathered. The main focus of the work was cross-group friendship and its possible consequences on intergroup attitudes and group identity. Participants evaluated the in- and out-group on various aspects (e.g., sociability, morality, competence) and were questioned about various facets of their linguistic identity. Results show that contact, particularly intimate relationships, significantly affect all types of attitudes with morality evaluations appearing to be most resistant to change. Also, new insights regarding identification with the in-group through contact and interesting ideas about the inclusion of out-group characteristics in in-group identity are outlined.