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When Groups Meet

The Dynamics of Intergroup Contact

  • Price: $49.95 $44.96
  • Hardback: 320 pages
  • Published: March 2011
  • ISBN: 978-1-84169-765-9
  • Publisher: Psychology Press

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Series: Essays in Social Psychology.

Research and theory on intergroup contact have become one of the fastest advancing and most exciting fields in social psychology in recent years. The work is exciting because it combines basic social psychological concerns -- human interaction, situational influences on behavior -- with an effective means of improving intergroup relations at a time when the world is witnessing widespread intergroup hatred and strife.

This volume provides an overview of this rapidly progressing area of investigation – its origins and early work, its current status and recent developments, along with criticisms of this work and suggestions for future directions. It covers a range of research findings involving contact between groups drawn from the authors’ extensive meta-analysis of 515 published studies on intergroup contact. This meta-analysis, together with the authors’ renowned research on intergroup contact, provides a solid foundation and broad overview of the field, to which have been added discussions of research extensions and emerging directions.

When Groups Meet is a rich, comprehensive overview of classic and contemporary work on intergroup contact, and provides insights into where this work is headed in the future. For research specialists, this volume not only serves as a sourcebook for research and theory on intergroup contact, it also provides the entire 515-item bibliography from the meta-analysis. The clear structure and accessible writing style will also appeal to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in psychology and other social sciences.

Table of Contents

1. The Origins of Intergroup Contact Theory. 2. Does Intergroup Contact Typically Reduce Intergroup Prejudice? 3. Do Intergroup Contact Effects Generalize? 4. Are the Effects of Intergroup Contact Universal? 5. When Does Intergroup Contact Reduce Prejudice? 6. How Does Intergroup Contact Reduce Prejudice? 7. Does Intergroup Contact Reduce All Aspects of Prejudice? 8. Does Cross-Group Friendship Play a Special Role in Reducing Prejudice? 9. Does Group Status Moderate Contact Effects? 10. Intergroup Contact as One of Many Predictors of Prejudice. 11. Criticisms of Intergroup Contact Theory. 12. When Intergroup Contact Fails. 13. Summing Up and Looking to the Future.

Reviews

"Contact theory represents psychology’s most important and enduring contribution to improving intergroup relations. Tom Pettigrew and Linda Tropp apply their vast knowledge and penetrating theoretical insights to synthesize the literature to create the definitive volume on this topic. When Groups Meet reviews the origins of the theory, presents a deep analysis of the current state of work on the theory, and offers a thoughtful appraisal of emerging scholarly directions. Readers, whether those new to this topic or those already working in this area, will especially benefit from these experts’ ideas about the future of contact theory and its implications for research and practical interventions." - John F. Dovidio, Yale University

"When Groups Meet is a remarkable achievement, essential reading for those who want to understand the potential of contact between members of different groups to shape outcomes from prejudice to policy preferences. It is sure to be a landmark in the field." - Janet Ward Schofield, University of Pittsburgh, Author of Black and White in School: Trust, Tension, or Tolerance?

"This book is an intellectual tour de force. I thought I knew the contact literature pretty well, but I found I learned something from just about every chapter. It uses a nice mix of systematic and narrative reviews of empirical work, blended with a well-judged focus on certain key studies. The combination makes a powerful argument for contact and an effective rebuttal to some of contact theory’s critics. I am full of admiration for the authors for the skill and erudition that they have brought to bear on this work." - Rupert Brown, University of Sussex, Author of Prejudice: Its Social Psychology

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