Five Observations on Five Years of Contact Hypothesis Research

This article provides five observations on the state of contact hypothesis research five years after the publication of The Contact Hypothesis Re-evaluated. First, we have seen a welcome proliferation of rigorous field experiments, which often find much more conflicting results than the theory’s proponents might predict. Second, to explain those conflicting results, I propose a more nuanced theory of prejudice. Third, light touch interventions are appropriate for light prejudices. Fourth, assimilation is an undertheorized moderator of contact. Fifth, I renew our previous paper’s call for systematic tests of Gordon Allport’s moderating conditions: shared goals, cooperation, equal status, and institutional support.