Fluctuations in Prejudice Do Not Track Fluctuations in Ordinary Contact in Three 5-Wave “Shortitudinal” Studies Examining Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Intervals

Shulman, Deborah; Meleady, Rose; Hodson, Gordon; Crisp, Richard J.

Abstract

Intergroup contact is regarded as one of the most effective ways to reduce prejudice. However, recent longitudinal studies using contemporary statistical techniques (e.g., random intercept cross-lagged panel models [RI-CLPMs]) have failed to find evidence of within-person changes in prejudice following contact fluctuations. We propose that past time-lags may have been too long to capture change and conducted three studies with shorter time-lags of single days, weeks, or months. We also considered effects of positive versus negative contact frequency. We consistently found that people who are less prejudiced have more contact (i.e., between-person effects); however, fluctuations in naturally occurring contact were not followed by corresponding within-person changes in prejudice, suggesting shorter-term contact fluctuations are detached from prejudice. With abundant support for contact in the field, we argue that prejudice may be impacted by major contact events, or through gradually acquired cumulative experiences, but effects are not apparent when examining “thin-slices” of time.

Citation

Shulman, D., Meleady, R., Hodson, G., & Crisp, R. J. (online). Fluctuations in Prejudice Do Not Track Fluctuations in Ordinary Contact in Three 5-Wave “Shortitudinal” Studies Examining Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Intervals. Social Psychological and Personality Science, https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241284079

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 21, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Oct 23, 2024
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 29, 2024
• Journal: Social Psychological and Personality Science
• Print ISSN: 1948-5506
• Electronic ISSN: 1948-5514
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506241284079
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2764880