Negative factors inhibiting contact’s effect are the least understood theoretically

Evidence

This shift in perspective challenges the original “positive factors” approach taken by Allport in The Nature of Prejudice. But this revised view is consistent with the contentions of other theorists who propose that greater contact and familiarity typically contribute to increased liking (e.g., Homans, 1950; Zajonc, 1968). And presently, with only a minute number of contact studies showing contact leading to greater prejudice, the “negative factors” that curb reductions in prejudice now appear to be the most problematic theoretically, yet the least understood. Thus, future contact research must grant more attention to the negative factors operating in contact situations to enhance understanding of the conditions that may inhibit the development of positive contact outcomes. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1711

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Allport-era claims about which conditions matter; reframes research frontier toward failure modes.
• SEED: Angle: why contact backfires or fails - the understudied negative factors - as a corrective to optimistic contact theory.