When the direct route is blocked: The extended contact pathway to improving intergroup relations

Abstract

Direct intergroup contact can be described as the “royal road” to reducing prejudice and intergroup conflict. Although direct contact with an outgroup member may be limited, a promising alternative route is that of extended (indirect) contact. According to extended contact theory, awareness that ingroup members have outgroup friends can improve people's relations with the outgroup. A key issue that has not been addressed is how the amount of direct and extended contact interact to affect intergroup relations. Three field-based studies demonstrated that when direct contact is low, higher levels of extended contact predict lower prejudice and higher voluntary engagement with outgroup culture, both cross-sectionally (Studies 1 and 2) and longitudinally (Study 3). However, when direct contact is high, extended contact does not affect intergroup relations. These findings show that only when there is limited opportunity for direct contact, awareness of larger numbers of ingroup-outgroup friendships can be very effective for improving intergroup relations.