Abstract
The aim of the paper is to assess the effects of an intervention program derived from contact theory on intergroup attitudes toward the Roma minority. A sample of 150 high school students from two midsized towns were randomly assigned to a control group and an experimental group. Participants in the experimental group attended six sessions of a Junior Project Manager program run by a local organization, which included project management lessons, a lesson on the discriminated minority and positive, cooperative direct contact with the Roma minority in work settings. Participant attitudes were measured prior to and after the intervention program. The intervention program had a positive impact on intergroup attitudes, intergroup trust, approach/avoid tendencies and intended future cooperation. The results indicate this was the first successful attempt to change intergroup attitudes using direct contact in a Slovak context.
Highlights
The study of intergroup attitudes and relations has a long history in social psychology (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006)
We found a statistically significant interaction between the levels of the time measures and the groups; the effect was medium (F(1, 92.08) = 7.752, p = .077, = .08)
We found a statistically significant interaction between the levels of the time measures and the groups; the effect size was small (F(1,91.95) = 4.0697; p = 0.047
Summary
The study of intergroup attitudes and relations has a long history in social psychology (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). There is a growing need to study ethnic based prejudice and develop tools to reduce it. Reasons range from societal ones, such as the recent escalation in support for extreme right-wing parties in Europe (Minkenberg, 2017), to individual ones, like the clear connection between discrimination and deterioration in psychological and mental health (Pascoe & Richman, 2009). People living in communities with higher levels of racial prejudice are at an elevated risk of mortality (Lee, Muennig, Kawachi, & Hatzenbuehler, 2015). The last Eurobarometer survey on discrimination (European Commission, 2015)
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