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The contact caveat: Negative contact predicts increased prejudice more than positive contact predicts reduced prejudice
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The contact caveat: Negative contact predicts increased prejudice more than positive contact predicts reduced prejudice

F.K. Barlow, S. Paolini, A. Pedersen, M.J. Hornsey, H.R.M. Radke, J. Harwood, M. Rubin and C.G. Sibley
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Vol.38(12), pp.1629-1643
2012
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Abstract

Contact researchers have largely overlooked the potential for negative intergroup contact to increase prejudice. In Study 1, we tested the interaction between contact quantity and valence on prejudice toward Black Australians (n = 1,476), Muslim Australians (n = 173), and asylum seekers (n = 293). In all cases, the association between contact quantity and prejudice was moderated by its valence, with negative contact emerging as a stronger and more consistent predictor than positive contact. In Study 2, White Americans (n = 441) indicated how much positive and negative contact they had with Black Americans on separate measures. Although both quantity of positive and negative contact predicted racism and avoidance, negative contact was the stronger predictor. Furthermore, negative (but not positive) contact independently predicted suspicion about Barack Obama’s birthplace. These results extend the contact hypothesis by issuing an important caveat: Negative contact may be more strongly associated with increased racism and discrimination than positive contact is with its reduction.

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#10 Reduced Inequalities

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
6 Social Sciences
6.73 Social Psychology
6.73.447 Racial Identity
Web Of Science research areas
Psychology, Social
ESI research areas
Psychiatry/Psychology
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