Contact Hypothesis: Reducing Prejudice

The 2016 United States Presidential Election has brought questions of prejudice, and how to prevent it, to the forefront of the American political and cultural discussion. One method of reducing prejudice being continually brought up in think pieces is the contact hypothesis. For many authors of these articles, the hypothesis is something of a ray of hope in what they perceive as dark times. Per James Hamblin (2016) of The Atlantic, application of the hypothesis can be a tool to “immunize” a population to prevent “stoking of tribalism.” Jeff Guo (2016) of The Washington Post sees it as the reason the next major political coalition comprised of present-day youth will be “more accepting of diversity” and “more skeptical of anything that sounds like bigotry or racism.” A concept that is expected by some to have such widespread effect on the future of the United States is worthy of a closer look. A deeper understanding of the contact hypothesis may add a crucial component to conversations on prejudice. The contact hypothesis is the idea that when a person from one social group interacts with someone outside of their group, they are less likely to be …show more content…
Participants in contact were likely to experience “attitude strength,” “outgroup trust,” and “forgiveness” as well as reducing implicit bias and “automatic physiological threat responses to out-group members” (Hewstone & Swart, 2011, 376). Contact can change these fundamental attributes of one’s character and self. Additionally, those who participated in intergroup contact gain positive attitudes not only toward the outgroup they interacted with, but also “towards other, secondary, outgroups not involved in the contact situation” (Hewstone & Swart, 2011, p. 376). The effects of contact bleed through to other parts of one’s personal life, creating a fundamental change in a participant’s