Abstract
We aim to provide one explanation for why the link between contact and prejudice is consistently less strong for minority group members than it is for majority group members. Specifically, we propose a “wallpaper effect” such that contact works to increase minority group members' positivity towards majority groups when they live in areas densely populated with other minority group members. Conversely, we suggest that when minority group members live in neighborhoods patterned with majority group faces (as is so often the case), contact will be less transformative. We test this assumption using a large sample of both New Zealander minority (Māori; N = 925) and majority (European; N = 3805) group members. In line with predictions, Māori who lived in minority dense neighborhoods showed the traditional association between contact and increased warmth towards New Zealander Europeans. This relationship, however, was weak or non-existent when they lived in primarily European neighborhoods. Contact effects in majority group members were unaffected by neighborhood composition. The interaction held when controlling for, and was not explained by: gender, income, experiences of harm, cognitions of race-based rejection, or realistic threat. We provide the first evidence to suggest that when it comes to minority group members' intergroup attitudes, contact with majority group members may be a relatively ineffective predictor unless the “wallpaper” of their lives is minority-dense.
Highlights
Positive contact with members of outgroups typically leads to improved intergroup attitudes [1,2]
We conducted a series of Multi-level Random Coefficient Models separately for our samples of Maori (925 participants nested within 623 area units, with an average of 1.485 people per unit) and European New Zealanders (3805 participants nested within 1267 area units, with an average of 3.003 people per unit)
We examined the link between intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes in both majority and minority group samples
Summary
Positive contact with members of outgroups typically leads to improved intergroup attitudes [1,2]. The power of contact to improve intergroup attitudes is predominantly evident for members of the comparatively privileged majority group. We propose a ‘‘wallpaper effect’’ such that for minorities, contact becomes less predictive of intergroup attitudes the higher the ratio of outgroup members in one’s neighborhood. To the extent that there is a relative scarcity of outgroup members (as is typically the case for majority group members) contact will predict intergroup attitudes. To the extent that one is surrounded by outgroup members (as minority group members typically are) levels of contact become a weak or non-significant predictor of intergroup attitudes. We test our predictions in a large, representative sample of European (majority group) and Maori (minority group) New Zealanders
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