Has Intergroup Contact Delivered?

Matt Lowe ()
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Matt Lowe: Vancouver School of Economics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Annual Review of Economics, 2025, vol. 17, issue 1, 321-344

Abstract: Intergroup contact is arguably the prejudice reduction intervention with the most existing empirical support. However, recent meta-analyses of experimental contact interventions find signs of publication and reporting biases. To mitigate such bias, I carry out a meta-analysis of 41 preregistered contact experiments, considering only treatment effects on preregistered primary outcomes. I find that (a) the average effects of intergroup contact are smaller than indicated by previous findings, at roughly one-tenth of a standard deviation; (b) the subset of in-person interventions that satisfy Allport's four desirable scope conditions (e.g., common goals) are no more effective; and (c) generalization is limited: Contact is more effective at changing behavior and attitudes toward people met than toward the outgroup as a whole. I offer suggestions for how researchers might make progress on the problem of generalization through careful measurement of its extent and the consideration of moderating factors beyond those emphasized by Allport.

Keywords: prejudice; discrimination; social interactions; intergroup contact; meta-analysis; preregistration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D74 D91 J15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1146/annurev-economics-081324-091109

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