Early cross-group friendships predict later altruism toward outgroups

Evidence

Positive emotions aroused by intergroup friendship also can be pivotal. The Oliners (1988) found that non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II reported more close friendships as children with other groups. Similarly, Rippl (1995) found friendship to be decisive in shaping contact effects between West and East Germans. These findings support earlier claims by Amir (1976) concerning the importance of intimacy in intergroup contact. — Thomas F. Pettigrew, Intergroup Contact Theory, 52

Categorization

• SHARE: Nerdy specific tidbit (rescuers’ childhood friendships) worth sending to someone who works on altruism or Holocaust rescue.
• SEED: Article angle: ‘The Friendships of Rescuers’ — what childhood cross-group intimacy does to moral courage decades later.