We must not be enemies: Interracial contact and the reduction of prejudice among authoritarians

Abstract

In two Flemish samples ( N = 215 and N = 90) two competing hypotheses concerning the simultaneous effects of intergroup contact and authoritarianism on prejudice were tested. While it has been suggested that authoritarianism may hinder the reduction of prejudice through intergroup contact, it has also been proposed that intergroup contact can be especially effective among high scorers on right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO). The present results supported the latter hypothesis. Moreover, high scorers on RWA and SDO exhibited lower levels of prejudice when having more positive contact, as well as exacerbated levels of prejudice when having more negative contact. The discussion focuses on some possible mechanisms that may underlie the reduction of prejudice among high-scoring authoritarians.