When Do Native Born Whites, Blacks, and

Immigrants Trust Each Other?

Linda R. Tropp
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dina Okamoto
Indiana University

Intergroup Contact
Basic Premise
- Positive contact between groups can reduce prejudice
- Contact as face-to-face interaction between
members of different groups
Optimal Conditions for Contact
- Equal status between groups in contact situation
- Support from institutional norms and authorities
- Cooperation and common goals

Meta-Analysis of Intergroup Contact Effects

Quantitative Integration of Research Studies

- Total of 515 studies (713 independent samples)
- Studies conducted between 1940s and 2000
- Data from 250,089 study participants

Research Conducted in Diverse Contexts

- Contact studies from 38 different countries

- Participants from different groups and settings

- Studies gathered from multiple disciplines
(e.g., psychology, sociology, political science,
psychiatry, medicine, social work, education)

(Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; 2008; 2011; Tropp & Pettigrew, 2005a; 2005b)

Does Intergroup Contact Reduce Prejudice?

Answer:

Yes

Positive intergroup contact

is typically associated with
lower levels of prejudice

(Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006; 2011)

How Our Research Extends Prior Work

Highlighting focus on immigrant-native relations

Examining contact between multiple immigrant and

native groups

Assessing patterns of contact across social spaces

(workplaces, neighborhoods, public spaces)

Testing how contact predicts a range of outcomes,

including trust, threat, and civic engagement

Our Research

Field Sites:

Atlanta and Philadelphia metro areas

Groups:

Native-Born: Whites and Blacks

Immigrants: Mexicans and Indians

Samples:

500 telephone survey respondents

from each of the four target groups

Who Has Contact With Whom? And Where?

Frequency of Contact
How often do you interact with [GROUP]
- at your job?
- around your home or in your neighborhood?
- at restaurants, stores, or malls?
(Never, rarely, sometimes, or often?)

Who Has Contact With Whom? And Where?

Whites
often

never

Blacks

With
Blacks
Work

With
Mexicans

Neighborhood

With
Indians

Public Space

With
Whites
Work

With
Mexicans

Neighborhood

With
Indians

Public Space

Who Has Contact With Whom? And Where?

Mexicans
often

never

Indians

With
Whites
Work

With
Blacks

Neighborhood

With
Indians
Public Space

With
Whites
Work

With
Blacks

Neighborhood

With
Mexicans
Public Space

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust and Acceptance?

When you think about [GROUP]

Trust:
how often do you feel that you can trust them?

Desire to Know:
to what extent are your interested in

getting to know them better?

Acceptance:
to what extent do you attempt to
welcome them into your community?

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust and Acceptance?

Whites

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Blacks

.18***

.24***

.35***

With Mexicans

.06

.26***

.31***

With Indians

.15**

.21***

.30***

Blacks

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites

.21***

.24***

.28***

With Mexicans

.07

.29***

.28***

With Indians

.05

.30***

.36***

Listed above are partial correlations controlling for age, gender, level of education,
political ideology, home ownership, and employment status. *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust and Acceptance?

Mexicans

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites

.35***

.29***

.46***

With Blacks

.42***

.39***

.43***

With Indians

.34***

.32***

.30***

Indians

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites

.25***

.26***

.34***

With Blacks

.19***

.26***

.32***

With Mexicans

.11*

.21***

.18***

Listed above are partial correlations controlling for age, gender, level of education,
political ideology, home ownership, and employment status. *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Who Feels Threatened By Whom? And in What Ways?

Jobs:
The more jobs that go to [GROUP], the fewer
jobs there will be for people like me.

Housing:
The more that [GROUP] move into good
neighborhoods, the fewer good neighborhoods
there will be for people like me.

Language:
The more that [GROUP] speak a language other
than English here, the more they disrupt the way
of life for people like me.
(scored from disagree strongly to agree strongly)

Who Feels Threatened By Whom? And in What Ways?

Whites
High
Threat

Low
Threat

Blacks

-1

-1

-2

-2

With
Blacks
Jobs

With
Mexicans
Housing

With
Indians

Language

With
Whites
Jobs

With
Mexicans
Housing

With
Indians

Language

Who Feels Threatened By Whom? And in What Ways?

Mexicans
High
Threat

Low
Threat

Indians

-1

-1

-2

-2

With
Whites
Jobs

With
Blacks
Housing

With
Indians
Language

With
Whites
Jobs

With
Blacks
Housing

With
Mexicans
Language

Does Contact Predict More or Less Threat?

Whites

Jobs

With Blacks

-.03

-.07

With Mexicans

-.07

-.17***

-.07

With Indians

-.02

-.13*

-.09

Blacks

Jobs

Housing

With Whites

-.15**

-.02

With Mexicans

.04

-.01

-.02

With Indians

-.05

.01

-.02

Housing

Language

Language

Listed above are partial correlations controlling for age, gender, level of education,
political ideology, home ownership, and employment status. *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Does Contact Predict More or Less Threat?

Mexicans

Jobs

With Whites

-.06

.05

With Blacks

-.01

-.02

With Indians

-.01

.02

Indians

Jobs

Housing

With Whites

-.24***

-.26***

With Blacks

-.18***

-.23***

With Mexicans

-.01

.04

Housing

Language

-.04

Language

.09

Listed above are partial correlations controlling for age, gender, level of education,
political ideology, home ownership, and employment status. *p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Thank you!

Who Trusts Whom?

Whites
often

never

Blacks

Blacks

Mexicans

Indians

Whites

Mexicans

Indians

Who Trusts Whom?

Mexicans
often

never

Indians

Whites

Blacks

Indians

Whites

Blacks

Mexicans

Frequency and Quality of Contact

Frequency of Contact
Quality of Contact
When you interact with [GROUP]
- at your job
- around your home or in your neighborhood
- at restaurants, stores, or malls

does contact with them generally feel

very unfriendly, somewhat unfriendly,
neither unfriendly nor friendly,
somewhat friendly, or very friendly?

How Do Groups Rate the Quality of Their Contact?

Whites
Very
friendly

Blacks

With
Blacks

With
Mexicans

With
Indians

With
Whites

-1

-1

-2
Very
unfriendly

-2

Work

Neighborhood

Public Space

Work

With
Mexicans

Neighborhood

With
Indians

Public Space

Note: These graphs include data only from those respondents who reported
having contact with the specified group.

How Do Groups Rate the Quality of Their Contact?

Mexicans
Very
friendly

Indians

With
Whites

With
Blacks

With
Indians

With
Whites

-1

-1

-2
Very
unfriendly

-2

Work

Neighborhood

Public Space

Work

With
Blacks

Neighborhood

With
Mexicans

Public Space

Note: These graphs include data only from those respondents who reported
having contact with the specified group.

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust among Whites?

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Blacks
Frequency

.13**

.27***

.38***

Quality

.20***

.29***

.19***

Frequency

.08

.29***

.32***

Quality

.14**

.25***

.25***

Frequency

.12**

.24***

.32***

Quality

.24***

.28***

.32***

With Mexicans

With Indians

*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust among Blacks?

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites
Frequency

.19***

.22***

.29***

Quality

.21***

.14**

.17***

Frequency

.05

.28***

.25***

Quality

.12*

.13*

.16***

Frequency

.06

.30***

.36***

Quality

.18***

.22***

.24***

With Mexicans

With Indians

*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust among Mexicans?

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites
Frequency

.29***

.27***

.47***

Quality

.27***

.11*

.36***

Frequency

.37***

.38***

.40***

Quality

.26***

.25***

.32***

Frequency

.29***

.31***

.30***

Quality

.17***

.22***

.39***

With Blacks

With Indians

*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001

Does Contact Predict Greater Trust among Indians?

Trust

Desire to Know

Acceptance

With Whites
Frequency

.21***

.25***

.38***

Quality

.32***

.24***

.35***

Frequency

.16***

.27***

.35***

Quality

.41***

.24***

.38***

Frequency

.02***

.22***

.22***

Quality

.34***

.24***

.35***

With Blacks

With Mexicans

*p < .05 **p < .01 ***p < .001