Allport held that equal-status contact alone cannot reduce prejudice

Evidence

Allport (1954/1979) noted that simple contact per se with a member of the outgroup would not necessarily be sufficient to change attitudes towards that group. He even asserted that “the bare fact of equalstatus contact” (1954/1979, p. 276) would not necessarily improve intergroup relations. He seemed to believe deeply that “contact must reach below the surface in order to be effective in altering prejudice” (p. 276). Some contemporary theoretical approaches, discussed below, have attempted to optimize contact by getting “below the surface” in various ways. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1807