The benefit of contact for prejudice-prone individuals: The type of stigmatized outgroup matters

ABSTRACT

Intergroup contact reduces prejudice against a variety of social outgroups and seems to be particularly effective at reducing prejudice in individuals most prone to it—those high in right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). The present study examines the moderating roles of RWA and SDO in the contact-prejudice relationship, targeting dissident, dangerous, and derogated outgroups: lesbians and gay men, people with schizophrenia, and Indigenous Australians, respectively. In total, 234 participants self-reported contact and prejudice against these outgroups and completed RWA and SDO scales. Contact predicted less prejudice against lesbians and gay men and Indigenous Australians in participants high in RWA and participants high in SDO. However, contact only predicted less prejudice against people with schizophrenia in participants low in RWA or SDO. The results suggest that the ability for intergroup contact to reduce prejudice in prejudice-prone individuals may depend on the outgroup targeted, specifically the threat they pose and the level of prejudice held against them.

KEYWORDS:

• Intergroup contact
• prejudice
• right-wing authoritarianism
• social dominance orientation

Data-availability

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/7f8yb/

Open Scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open science badges for Open Materials through Open Practices Disclosure. The materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/7f8yb/

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Study materials are available at https://osf.io/3sxtz/

2. Data is available from the corresponding author.

3. As participants belonging to the target outgroup were excluded from analyses concerning that outgroup, Table 1 displays correlations individually for each outgroup involving only the relevant participants.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Rachel D. Maunder

Rachel D. Maunder Rachel Maunder is a PhD candidate with an interest in strategies aimed at reducing public and self-stigma against people with mental illness.

Sinead C. Day

Sinead C. Day Sinead Day is a postgraduate student in clinical psychology with research interests in prejudice reduction, gender and the intersections between social psychology and mental health.

Fiona A. White

Fiona A. White Professor Fiona White is recognised internationally for her expertise in the development and evaluation of effective strategies to reduce prejudice and promote cooperative intergroup relations.