The context of intergroup communication

This article discusses the background of intergroup communication research, comments on the articles presented in this special issue, and suggests some issues and methods that may be prevalent in the future. It is proposed that intergroup communication research has been influenced by the Western bias toward individual-level analysis, resulting in an excessive focus on cognition, at the expense of contextual factors. This tendency may be balanced in future research by a greater consideration, of context, an integration of levels of analysis, and attention to the influence of emotion. Also in the future, an expansion of methodologies will better incorporate the complexity and emergent qualities inherent in intergroup communication. It is concluded that the future of intergroup communication research is promising.