Social Contact Theories to Regulate Intergroup Relations: Intergroup, Extended, Imagined Contact

Social contact theories present strategies to regulate intergroup relations. These theories started with social contact hypothesis proposed by Allport (1954) and continued with extended contact and imagined contact theories to provide appropriate contact solutions for different contexts. The aim of the current paper is to prepare a source in Turkish by reviewing articles related with intergroup contact theory which is one of the oldest theories in psychology literature, and extended contact and imagined contact theories which were proposed based on intergroup contact theory. There are four parts in the paper. The first part includes historical progress in intergroup contact theory and findings of studies related with impact of and the processes in intergroup contact theory. In this part, there are two additional subtitles. These subtitles contain proposals and related findings in social contact hypothesis of Allport (1954) and in intergroup contact theory of Pettigrew (1998). In the second and third parts, findings and hypotheses in extended contact theory and imagined contact theories were demonstrated respectively. Lastly in the forth part, studies and their findings conducted in Turkey are presented.