Direct and indirect intergroup contact effects on prejudice: A normative interpretation

Abstract

Abstract Intergroup contact theory and research have advanced rapidly in recent years. Among the advances is the surprising finding that indirect contact (having an ingroup friend who has an outgroup friend) reduces prejudice at levels comparable to those of direct contact (having an outgroup friend yourself). Using a large, probability survey of German adults, we explore the relationship between direct and indirect contact. We find they are highly interrelated, and both are negatively related to prejudices against foreigners and Muslims living in Germany. Direct and indirect contact together enhance the prediction of prejudice. Moreover, the two contact types are shaped by similar social and personality variables. Opportunity for contact is important, while authoritarians avoid contact. Their effects are mediated by threat, but here we find the one difference between the two types. Direct contact is negatively related to both individual and collective threat. Indirect contact is also negatively related to collective threat but only slightly related to individual threat. We interpret these relationships within a normative perspective.