Emphasizing group categories during contact risks increasing anxiety and fear.

Evidence

Making categories salient risks exacerbating and reinforcing perceptions of group differences, which may result in anxiety, discomfort, and fear (Hewstone & Brown, 1986). This would effectively serve to undermine Allport’s notion of the importance of a perceived common humanity between groups during contact. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1811

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Negative outgroup contact raises anxiety, which breeds hostility and contact avoidance. — Blake M. Riek, Eric W. Mania, and Samuel L. Gaertner, Intergroup Threat and Outgroup…, 47