Allport’s optimal contact conditions are facilitating rather than essential

Evidence

Indeed, 95 percent of the 714 samples included in our meta-analysis reported that greater intergroup contact corresponds with lower intergroup prejudice; but only 10 percent of the contact measures involved intergroup friendship and only 19 percent of the samples reported contact under Allport’s conditions. In his formulation, Allport held his optimal factors to be essential conditions for intergroup contact to diminish prejudice. But our results indicate that, while these factors are important, they are not necessary for achieving positive effects from intergroup contact. Instead, Allport’s conditions are better thought of as facilitating, rather than essential, conditions for positive contact outcomes to occur. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1709

Categorization

• QUESTION: Which specific ‘negative factors’ inhibit prejudice reduction remains unidentified — worth chasing the later chapters cited (Gaertner & Dovidio ch. 5, Kenworthy et al. ch. 17) to see the state of this research.