Allport’s four contact conditions were adopted to explain inconsistent contact outcomes

Evidence

From the student papers especially, Allport noted the contrasting effects of intergroup contact – often reducing but sometimes exacerbating prejudice. To account for these inconsistencies, Allport adopted a “positive factors” approach. Reduced prejudice will result, he held, when four positive features of the contact situation are present: (a) equal status between the groups, (b) common goals, (c) intergroup cooperation, and (d) the support of authorities, law, or custom. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1665

Categorization

• XREF: Core canonical statement of the four conditions driving the whole contact-theory reassessment.
• DEFINE: Lays out the four Allport conditions that anchor the vault’s existing contact-theory claims.