Can we change high need for cognitive closure adolescents' prejudice towards migrants? The role of class shared cognitions and in-depth exploration of educational identity

High NCC individuals are more prejudiced and prefer cognitive stability over change. Can we change this tendency in young people? We focused on school-related aspects as sources of influence over individual attitudes through class shared cognitions (in terms of a homogenous perception of the outgroup relying on simple categorization) and on identity formation processes that are intertwined with social identity ones, such as in-depth exploration of educational identity alternatives (relying on accurate thinking). A longitudinal study on 304 adolescents was conducted to test whether the NCC effect on prejudice towards migrants was mediated by in-depth exploration of educational identity alternatives. Due to high NCC individuals’ preference for stability, this effect would be pronounced for those highly exposed to the shared cognition of migrants as a homogenous group. Results of a bootstrapping moderated mediation revealed that for individuals highly exposed to class shared cognition of migrants as a homogenous group, in-depth exploration mediated the effects of NCC leading to lower prejudice towards migrants. Results are discussed stressing the role of contextual factors on NCC and the interplay between personal and social identity processes underlying adolescents prejudice