Exploring secondary transfer generalization effects from Black and gay contact

Abstract

Intergroup contact has come to be known as one of the most influential ways to reduce prejudice (Hodson & Hewstone, 2013). Contact effects can be categorized as primary (i.e., the effect of contact on attitudes toward the group individuals are in contact with) or secondary effects (i.e., the effect of intergroup on attitudes toward an uninvolved secondary outgroup). Here, we explore primary contact effects on outcomes toward the secondary outgroup through outgroup humanization, assessing White, heterosexual Americans’ contact with both Black and gay people. In Study 1 (N=471; 52.7% men; Mage=44.90, SD=14.75), path analyses were conducted on four fully-saturated models that included intergroup contact (quantity, quality), humanization, and intergroup outcomes (attitudes, collective action intentions) using cross-sectional data. Direct generalization was consistently observed from gay contact to Black intergroup outcomes. Only one indirect generalization pathway was statistically significant: greater quantity of gay contact humanized Black people, which itself predicted more positive attitudes and stronger collective action intentions toward Black people. However, Black contact did not predict direct or indirect intergroup outcomes toward gay people. Study 2 assessed the effects of contact over time through four waves of data (T1 N=456; 48.4% male, 51.6% female, Mage=46.71, SD=15.30; T2 N=405, T3 N=371, T4 N=350). We used multilevel modelling to parse apart the within-person and between-person effects of contact on intergroup outcomes. We found consistent evidence of primary contact effects, for both Black and gay contact, regarding both within-subjects and between-subjects relations. However, the gay-to-Black generalization pattern found in Study 1 only occurred at the between-subjects level in Study 2, suggesting that the results from Study 1 reflect between-subjects differences (i.e., associative generalization). Within-subjects Black-to-gay generalization was observed: quantity of contact with Black people predicted increased collective action intentions toward gay people, and quantity of contact with Black people humanizes gay people (i.e., process generalization). Contrary to recent concerns in the field, Study 2 promisingly showed that contact with the primary outgroup can change individuals in ways that lead to positive outcomes towards primary, and even secondary, outgroups. Implications for these findings in terms of the contact hypothesis and future research directions are considered.