Allport’s contact program framework survived except on structural discrimination

Evidence

Allport’s focus on the evaluation of intergroup relations programs and his attention to evaluation design seem completely modern. He stressed the necessity of conducting evaluations of all intergroup relations programs, despite the problems inherent in evaluations, and he was a strong advocate of the use of sophisticated methodologies in conducting this research. For example, Allport noted the importance of control groups, something that was missing from most evaluation research of the 1950s. Increasingly, programs are being evaluated in a manner which Allport would approve. We also think that Allport would be excited to see how the types of programs he identified in 1954 have flourished and become integrated into institutions such as schools and business organizations. In addition, Allport could not possibly have imagined the variety of intergroup relations programs that have been devised. In general, Allport’s approach has stood the test of time, with the one exception noted in the preceding section – he did not anticipate how programs can address structural aspects of discrimination. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2680

Categorization

• XREF: Directly updates the vault’s prejudice-psychology claims on Allport’s contact hypothesis and its program-evaluation legacy.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: which intergroup programs since 1954 actually address structural discrimination, given Allport missed this dimension?