intergroup conflict Flashcards
what is contact theory?
Allports (1954) contact theory argues that intergroup contact reduces prejudice and discrimination
What are the three types of contact optimal to reduce prejudice?
equal status, the pursuit of a common goal, sanctioned by institutional support
What is equal status?
Contact where both parties have equal footing
What is the pursuit of a common goal?
Not in competitive environments -> everyone wins by pursuing the same goal
What does sanctioned by institutional supports mean?
Powerful institutions supporting the intergroup contact
What did Pettigrew and Troop (2006) found?
They conducted a meta-analysis of 515 studies looking at intergroup contact in which they found a moderate effect (r=0.22) indicating that contact significantly reduces levels of prejudice
What is an example of contact theory?
Cook (1971) investigated interracial contact. He identified prejudiced white people and hired them to work for one month on a railroad company management team. Participants worked alongside a white and African-American confederate. After one month, racist participants rated their African-American co-worker as more friendly, likeable, and competent. Several months layer they were less prejudiced than controls and endorsed more racial equality.
What is common ingroup identity?
Gaertner and Dovidio (2000) argued that if people can take two groups and see them as part of a superordinate ‘ingroup’ (school, nation, humanity), stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination
What did Dovidio et al. (1997) find?
They had people come to the lab, and initially organized them into groups of 3. Then half the groups were merged into one superordinate identity, and the other half were merged into larger groups of 6. They then completed the Winter Survival Problem and rated the other members of the group on evaluations, self-disclosure and helping behaviour. Levels of bias were lower for the superordinate group.
What is the role of information?
Interventions can work to inform people about other groups, combatting their prejudice with accurate information.
What did Schaller et al. (1996) find?
They examined the impact of information on reducing stereotyping. They had participants learn about making sound inferences about groups based on statistical reasoning. After learning about how covariance can explain association, a week later, participants were presented with a group impression formation task. Teaching people that the differences between black and white americans might be related to historical injustice rather than differences in genetics between black and white americans will lower stereotype use.
