TY - JOUR
T1 - Negative intergroup contact makes group memberships salient
T2 - Explaining why intergroup conflict endures
AU - Paolini, Stefania
AU - Harwood, Jake
AU - Rubin, Mark
PY - 2010/12/1
Y1 - 2010/12/1
N2 - Drawing from the intergroup contact model and self-categorization theory, the authors advanced the novel hypothesis of a valence-salience effect, whereby negative contact causes higher category salience than positive contact. As predicted, in a laboratory experiment of interethnic contact, White Australians (N = 49) made more frequent and earlier reference to ethnicity when describing their ethnic contact partner if she had displayed negative (vs. positive, neutral) nonverbal behavior. In a two-wave experimental study of retrieved intergenerational contact, American young adults (N = 240) reported age to be more salient during negative (vs. positive) contact and negative contact predicted increased episodic and chronic category salience over time. Some evidence for the reverse salience-valence effect was also found. Because category salience facilitates contact generalization, these results suggest that intergroup contact is potentially biased toward worsening intergroup relations; further implications for theory and policy making are discussed.
AB - Drawing from the intergroup contact model and self-categorization theory, the authors advanced the novel hypothesis of a valence-salience effect, whereby negative contact causes higher category salience than positive contact. As predicted, in a laboratory experiment of interethnic contact, White Australians (N = 49) made more frequent and earlier reference to ethnicity when describing their ethnic contact partner if she had displayed negative (vs. positive, neutral) nonverbal behavior. In a two-wave experimental study of retrieved intergenerational contact, American young adults (N = 240) reported age to be more salient during negative (vs. positive) contact and negative contact predicted increased episodic and chronic category salience over time. Some evidence for the reverse salience-valence effect was also found. Because category salience facilitates contact generalization, these results suggest that intergroup contact is potentially biased toward worsening intergroup relations; further implications for theory and policy making are discussed.
KW - category salience
KW - intergroup contact
KW - intergroup relations
KW - prejudice
KW - quality of contact
KW - self-categorization theory
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78649267467&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78649267467&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0146167210388667
DO - 10.1177/0146167210388667
M3 - Article
C2 - 21051766
AN - SCOPUS:78649267467
SN - 0146-1672
VL - 36
SP - 1723
EP - 1738
JO - Personality and social psychology bulletin
JF - Personality and social psychology bulletin
IS - 12
ER -