Self-disclosure reduces prejudice by thickening perception of outgroup individuals

Evidence

Relatedly, exchanges between members of different groups in which the members reveal meaningful aspects of themselves through selfdisclosure (see figure 17.1) have been demonstrated to be important in the development of interpersonal relationships that lead to successful intergroup contact. Self-disclosure may reduce prejudice by increasing the complexity and differentiated perception of the outgroup target, thus overriding the use of stereotypes to categorize and evaluate an individual. Consistent with this explanation, a cross-sectional survey study of the orientation of White elementary and high school students to South Asians revealed that crossgroup friendship was associated with greater self-disclosure, which subsequently resulted in more positive intergroup attitudes towards South Asian people (Turner et al., 2005). Self-disclosure also increased the perceived differences among South Asian people, rendering homogenous perceptions of the outgroup, such as those based on stereotypes, less tenable. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1827

Relatedly, exchanges between members of different groups in which the members reveal meaningful aspects of themselves through selfdisclosure (see figure 17.1) have been demonstrated to be important in the development of interpersonal relationships that lead to successful intergroup contact. Self-disclosure may reduce prejudice by increasing the complexity and differentiated perception of the outgroup target, thus overriding the use of stereotypes to categorize and evaluate an individual. Consistent with this explanation, a cross-sectional survey study of the orientation of White elementary and high school students to South Asians revealed that crossgroup friendship was associated with greater self-disclosure, which subsequently resulted in more positive intergroup attitudes towards South Asian people (Turner et al., 2005). Self-disclosure also increased the perceived differences among South Asian people, rendering homogenous perceptions of the outgroup, such as those based on stereotypes, less tenable. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 1827

Categorization

• XREF: Mechanistic account feeding the vault’s contact-theory mechanism claims; self-disclosure is the operative affective/cognitive process.
• CANDY: Testable everyday claim: friendship plus self-disclosure kills stereotyping better than mere acquaintance.
• corroborated: 5 independent passages support this claim — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1827; John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 1827