Combat contact changes racial attitudes even among resistant groups

Evidence

In 1949, Stouffer et al.’s extensive study of “the American Soldier” provided the first massive field test of intergroup contact’s effects. Using an ingenious quasi-experimental design, Stouffer showed that the experience of fighting side-by-side with African American soldiers in the desperate Battle of the Bulge during the winter of 1944–5 sharply changed the attitudes of White American soldiers. Though limited to the fighting situation, these altered attitudes were found among southerners as well as northerners, and among officers as well as enlisted men. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1662 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Physical training to fight can forge bonds that resist racial thinking — Amit Singh, “Carnal conviviality” and the end of…, 17; Shared combat training can erase racial and gendered hierarchies through bodily friendship. — Amit Singh, “Carnal conviviality” and the end of…, 32; Shared dangerous work and interdependence reduced racial prejudice in both sailors and police (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Fighting alongside Black soldiers at the Bulge changed White soldiers’ racial attitudes #exemplifies (0.95) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1662
• Mere intergroup contact without equal status worsened racial prejudice #complicates (0.80)
• Cross-group prejudice correlation shows attitudes are not driven by intergroup contact #complicates (0.75)