Contact effects depend on whether social norms reinforce or oppose the interaction.

Evidence

“Contact and perceived social climate tend to reinforce each other when their influence operates in the same direction, and to cancel each other out when their influence works in the opposite direction” (Wilner et al 1955, p. 106). — Thomas F. Pettigrew, Intergroup Contact Theory, 22

Categorization

• QUESTION: What happens in mixed-norm environments where neighbors disagree about interracial friendliness? The quote implies cancellation but doesn’t specify the threshold.
• APHORISMS: Framed generally, this reads as transferable life wisdom: environments amplify behavior when norms and incentives align, and neutralize it when they conflict.