Decategorization predicts contact works when group salience is minimized

Evidence

The proponents of an interpersonal approach (e.g., Brewer & Miller, 1984), which is often called decategorization, predicted optimal contact under conditions of minimized salience of group membership and group boundaries. This would allow those involved in the intergroup interaction to focus on personal information that individuates outgroup members and makes them unique and distinct from their group as a whole. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1808

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names and defines the decategorization/Brewer-Miller model of intergroup contact.
• XREF: connects to: Physical contact humanizes opponents and enables depolarization — Didier Caluwaerts et al., Deliberation and Polarization: A…, 123; Empowering contact boosts minority readiness to cooperate across 24 samples — Nurit Shnabel and Johannes Ullrich, Identity Needs in Intergroup Relations:…, 97