Add others and stir: Contextual influences on intergroup prejudice and friendship formation.
Item
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Title
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Add others and stir: Contextual influences on intergroup prejudice and friendship formation.
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Identifier
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AAI3127893
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identifier
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3127893
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Creator
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Livert, David Edward.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Tracey A. Revenson
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Date
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2004
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Social
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Abstract
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Over the past 50 years, considerable research and interventions have demonstrated that positive intergroup contact between members of conflicting groups can result in prejudice reduction. More recent formulations of social contact theory have emphasized th eimportance of friendship formation as well as affective processes in achieving desired effects. This study examined the relationship between intergroup contact, friendship formation, and prejudice reduction using a longitudinal design and multilevel analyses to capture both the dynamic and contextual influences involved in contact effects. Participants consisted of 236 chef students at a chef training school in the U.S. Northeast. The school's curriculum provided a 'natural experiment.' Students were randomly assigned to 14 groups in which they took kitchen skills classes, taught by a chef instructor. Three outgroups were examined: female chef students, Baking students, and career changer students. Eight questionnaires were administered over the four months of the study. Additional data were collected through informal interviews, field observation, and archival research.;Intergroup contact resulted in a decrease in male students' prejudice toward female chef students. However contact also resulted in an increase in first career students' prejudice toward Career Changers chef students. The formation of intergroup friendships did not mediate either of these relationships, as predicted by the study's theoretical model. Consistent with the study's predictions, participants in kitchen groups with high task cohesion and cooperation were more likely to form intergroup friendships. Potential sources of divergent contact effects were evaluated. Recommendations to the chef school based on the study's findings are also included.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
