Reducing prejudice via direct and extended cross-group friendship

Abstract

One of the most exciting developments in intergroup contact theory is the idea that a certain type of contact, cross-group friendship, might be particularly effective at reducing prejudice. In this chapter we review research on two types of cross-group friendship. Direct cross-group friendship refers to friendships that develop between members of different groups. Extended cross-group friendship, on the other hand, refers to vicarious experience of cross-group friendship, the mere knowledge that other ingroup members have cross-group friends. We consider the relationship between both types of cross-group friendship and prejudice and the processes that mediate and moderate these relationships. The research highlights the respective strengths and weaknesses of direct and extended cross-group friendship and illustrates how they might be practically combined in efforts to improve intergroup relations.

Keywords :

• Direct contact
• Extended contact
• Intergroup anxiety
• Norms
• Prejudice
• Self-disclosure
• Segregation

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a postgraduate studentship and postdoctoral fellowship from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to Rhiannon Turner; grants from the Community Relations Unit (CRU), Northern Ireland, the ESRC, and the Russell Sage Foundation to Miles Hewstone; from the Keats Endowment Fund to Stefania Paolini; and a travel grant from the European Association of Experimental Social Psychology to Oliver Christ.