What Should I Think; How Should I Feel?

The present study focused on the role of perceived social norms in the formation of outgroup attitudes among Finnish majority and Russian-speaking minority youth living in Finland. According to the results obtained, pleasant experiences of intergroup contact are not enough for youth to develop positive intergroup relations; also the support of positive social norms is needed. Positive normative influences have the potential to break the strong link between rare and/or negative personal contact experiences and negative outgroup attitudes, and norms also influence the relationship between explicitly and implicitly expressed attitudes. Thus, the results of the study stress the responsibility of adults in preparing the next generation for life in a culturally diverse society.