Contact Hypothesis

Overview

For at least the past 50 years, numerous studies about contact hypothesis have been conducted with diverse groups and in a wide range of settings. Many of these studies supported the hypothesis, that is, that intergroup contact reduces intergroup prejudice. However, it was questioned if contact per se (or any kind of contact) reduced prejudice or if certain conditions were necessary for the positive effects of contact to occur. Initially, Allport identified four conditions that lead inter-group contact to a positive outcome. The first condition is equal status. Contact between members of two groups functions positively when the status of the two contacting groups is perceived as equal by the members in the contacting situation. [Page 136]Second, when two contacting groups share common goals, the contact in the process of achieving the common goals can reduce prejudice. The third condition is intergroup cooperation. Reduction of prejudice may not occur in the contact in which members of different groups compete with each other for their goals. When members of different groups work cooperatively for common benefits, the influence of contact can be positive. The fourth condition concerns institutional support, such as support of authorities, social atmosphere, law, or custom. Social institutions provide criteria or norms of intergroup acceptance and guidelines for how people treat members of outgroups. For example, civil rights legislation suggests the social norms for interracial interaction in U.S. society. When intergroup contact is discouraged and misguided by social institution, the contact may not produce the positive outcome. Whereas Allport claimed that all four conditions are essential for the positive outcome of contact to occur, Thomas Pettigrew, in an extensive meta-analysis published in 2006, discovered that contact alone can reduce intergroup prejudice and suggested that the four conditions played facilitating roles rather than essential roles in the reduction of prejudice.

Conditions for Contact Effects

In the early studies of contact hypothesis, researchers were concerned with testing the contact conditions that can ensure positive effects. Several more conditions were identified in addition to Allport's original four. Among them are the following: (a) The outgroup member should show stereotype-disconfirming characteristics in contact, (b) the contact situation should be individual oriented and intimate, (c) the contact between members of different groups should be voluntary, and (d) members of different groups should not have contrasting values or beliefs. Besides these positive conditions, negative conditions that can increase intergroup prejudice were also the focus of some studies. These negative conditions include competitive contact, unpleasant and involuntary contact, contact that lowers one group's status, contact with a frustrated group, and contact with a group having incompatible values and belief.

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