Intergroup programs yield modest but enduring effects on behavior

Evidence

Thus, nearly all of them are subject to alternative explanations of one type or another. In addition, the sample sizes were sometimes rather small. Moreover, many of these programs were conducted by inexperienced personnel or were evaluated during their inaugural application. It seems likely that these programs would have had a greater impact if they had been conducted by experienced personnel or if they had been evaluated after they had been in use for a considerable period of time. Finally, it is probable that studies finding no effects or negative effects were less likely to have been published than studies finding positive effects, which may lead to overestimating the favorable effects of these programs. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2670 (#complicates, via linked claim)

GENERALIZATION ACROSS SITUATIONS World War II research showed major improvements in white attitudes toward black soldiers after combat together (Stouffer et al 1949). Yet whites continued to favor racially separate post exchanges (military stores). Other early studies also demonstrated limited generalization across situations (Biesanz & Smith 1951, Deutsch & Collins 1951, Harding & Hogrefe 1952, Minard 1952, Reitzes 1953, Saenger & Gilbert 1950). Recall that the first cooperative encounters of the Robbers’ Cave study did not generalize either. Only the cumulative effect of repeated optimal situations Annu. — Thomas F. Pettigrew, Intergroup Contact Theory, 60 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
• XREF: connects to: Most multicultural education studies show positive or partially positive effects on intergroup relations.; Intergroup relations programs show lasting effects that grow over time.; Publication bias inflates apparent effectiveness of intergroup programs — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2670 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Publication bias inflates apparent effectiveness of intergroup programs #complicates (0.82) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2670
• Improved intergroup attitudes often fail to transfer to new situations #complicates (0.76) — Thomas F. Pettigrew, Intergroup Contact Theory, 60