ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Cognitive Science
Imagined Intergroup Contact and Power-Dependent Attentional Bias: A Dual-Process Model of Transnational Policy Cognition in the Belt and Road Context
Provisionally accepted
Xinyu Cheng1
Peipei Kang2*- 1Shandong University, Jinan, China
- 2Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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Introduction: With the increasing complexity of transnational policy communication in digital media environments, understanding the cognitive mechanisms behind public perception has become crucial. Although the international community widely recognizes cognition as the foundation for shared knowledge and the construction of global identities, research on the psychological mechanisms and the impact of cognition based on transnational perspectives remains scarce. This paper takes the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an example to examine the role of imagined intergroup contact in cognitive processing, and the representation of attention bias in cognitive content by cognitive maps across different nations. Method: This study is based on 8348 valid cross-national questionnaires obtained. Test 1 employed structural equation modeling to analyze the role of imagined intergroup contact in the cognitive process. Test 2 utilized semantic network analysis to characterize similarities and differences in attentional allocation toward BRI-related cognitive content across nations. Results: For cognitive Process, imagined contact significantly improves stereotypes, with perceptual sensitivity and cues to action being key motivators. Perception of threat was less influential than expected. Regarding the key roles influencing cognition BRI cooperating countries and the BRICS, which combine high global and local efficiency, assume the role of cognitive 'attraction'. Regarding the prioritization of cognitive content, attention allocation followed a power-dependent pattern— stronger nations focused on status maintenance, while weaker nations prioritized survival-related issues. Discussion: Our findings propose a dual-process framework for transnational policy cognition, combining top-down imagined contact effects and bottom-up selection of cognitive content. This study advances cognitive science by linking intergroup psychology with policy communication, offering policymakers strategies to navigate cognitive barriers in global governance.
Keywords: policy communication, Cross-scale interaction, transnational cognition, imaginedintergroup contact, semantic networks, transnationalcognition, imaginedintergroupcontact, attentionalbias
Received: 14 Apr 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cheng and Kang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Peipei Kang, 997443791@qq.com
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