Nice to Know You? Testing Contact, Cultural, and Group Threat Theories of Anti-Black and Anti-Hispanic Stereotypes

Objectives. Many racial/ethnic policies in the United States—from desegregation to affirmative action policies—presume that contact improves racial/ethnic relations. Most research, however, tests related theories in isolation from one another and focuses on black-white contact. This article tests co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial science quarterly Vol. 85; no. 2; pp. 257 - 280
Main Authors Dixon, Jeffrey C., Rosenbaum, Michael S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing 01.06.2004
Blackwell
Southwestern Social Science Association
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
SeriesSocial Science Quarterly
Subjects
Affirmative Action
Attitudes
Black people
Collaboration
Communities
Contact
Cultural groups
Culture
Culture contact
Cultures and civilizations
Desegregation
Ethnic relations
Ethnic relations. Racism
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic people
Hispanics
Interethnic relations
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority groups
Multilevel models
Of General Interest
Prejudice
Prejudices
Race relations
Racial Relations
Racial stereotypes
Racism
School boards
Segregation
Social Contact
Social Interaction
Social policy
Social sciences
Sociology
Stereotypes
Threat
U.S.A
USA
Whites
Workplaces
United States Of America
Affirmative action
Stereotype
Social Interaction
Ethnic relation
Cultural contact
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Summary:Objectives. Many racial/ethnic policies in the United States—from desegregation to affirmative action policies—presume that contact improves racial/ethnic relations. Most research, however, tests related theories in isolation from one another and focuses on black-white contact. This article tests contact, cultural, and group threat theories to learn how contact in different interactive settings affects whites' stereotypes of blacks and Hispanics, now the largest minority group in the country. Method. We use multi-level modeling on 2000 General Social Survey data linked to Census 2000 metropolitan statistical area/county-level data. Results. Net of the mixed effects of regional culture and racial/ethnic composition, contact in certain interactive settings ameliorates anti-black and anti-Hispanic stereotypes. Conclusions. Cultural and group threat theories better explain anti-black stereotypes than anti-Hispanic stereotypes, but as contact theory suggests, stereotypes can be overcome with relatively superficial contact under the right conditions. Results provide qualified justification for the preservation of desegregation and affirmative action policies.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-ZF728QW4-9
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ArticleID:SSQU08502003
Direct correspondence to Jeffrey Dixon, Indiana University Department of Sociology, 744 Ballantine Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405 〈jedixon@indiana.edu〉. The authors will share all data and coding materials with those wishing to replicate the study. The authors thank David Blouin, Emily Bowman, Clem Brooks, Suzanna Crage, Mary Dagaz, Kristin Geraty, Claudia Geist, Isaac Heacock, Cheryl Hunter, Andrew Fullerton, David James, Karen Kaiser, Sven Klingeman, Joshua Klugman, Jose Mata, Janice McCabe, Sigrun Olafsdottir, Brian Powell, Rob Robinson, Alicia Suarez, Quincy Stewart, Steve Viscelli, Pam Walters, Jun Xu, and anonymous SSQ reviewers for their valuable comments on previous versions of this paper. Authors' names are listed in alphabetical order; each is an equal co-author.
SSQ
reviewers for their valuable comments on previous versions of this paper. Authors' names are listed in alphabetical order; each is an equal co‐author.
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The authors will share all data and coding materials with those wishing to replicate the study. The authors thank David Blouin, Emily Bowman, Clem Brooks, Suzanna Crage, Mary Dagaz, Kristin Geraty, Claudia Geist, Isaac Heacock, Cheryl Hunter, Andrew Fullerton, David James, Karen Kaiser, Sven Klingeman, Joshua Klugman, Jose Mata, Janice McCabe, Sigrun Olafsdottir, Brian Powell, Rob Robinson, Alicia Suarez, Quincy Stewart, Steve Viscelli, Pam Walters, Jun Xu, and anonymous
jedixon@indiana.edu
Direct correspondence to Jeffrey Dixon, Indiana University Department of Sociology, 744 Ballantine Hall, Bloomington, IN 47405
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ISSN:0038-4941
1540-6237
DOI:10.1111/j.0038-4941.2004.08502003.x