Contact, evaluation and social distance: differentiating majority and minority effects

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Contact, evaluation and social distance: differentiating majority and minority effects

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/216169

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Title: Contact, evaluation and social distance: differentiating majority and minority effects
Author(s): Bastian, Brock; Lusher, Dean; Ata, Abe
Abstract: Contact research has traditionally focused on reducing negative attitudes or emotions towards outgroups. In the current studies we focus on reduced social distance as an outcome of intergroup contact -- that is a person's desire to have increased contact with members of a group -- and investigate whether outgroup evaluation in associated with these generalizing effects of contact. Drawing on data from a large sample of secondary school students in Australia gathered from majority and minority group members the findings demonstrate that having contact with an outgroup reduces social distance to the group in general. However, for majority group members, evaluation of the minority group is a strong predictor of social distance and evaluation is also improved with intergroup contact. Importantly, evaluations of the outgroup play no such role for minority group members. The findings highlight an alternate model for understanding contact effects and suggest that reduced social distance rather than improved outgroup evaluations may be more important in understanding minority responses to contact.
Publication type: Journal article
Source: International Journal of Intercultural Relations, Vol. 36, no. 1 (Jan 2012), pp. 100-107
Publication year: 2012
FOR Code(s): 1608 Sociology; 1701 Psychology
Keyword(s): Intergroup contact; Muslims; Prejudice; Social distance
Publisher: Elsevier
ISSN: 0147-1767
Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2011.02.005
Peer reviewed