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

Abstract

ABSTRACTIntergroup 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.