The Contact Hypothesis

 

There is a popular theory called the contact hypothesis which suggests that, "prejudice can be lessened, and empathy promoted, simply by social contact between members of different identity groups (The Psychologist by Miles Hewstone). As the use of affirmative action with respect to college admissions aims to increase diversity on college campuses, it would seem that the contact hypothesis would be an argument in factor of this system. However, some would argue that contact does not always reduce prejudice. According to the website Understanding Prejudice, "In many real-world environments the fires of prejudice are fueled by conflict and competition between groups that are unequal in status, such as Israelis and Palestinians, Whites and Blacks, or long-time citizens and recent immigrants. Under conditions of competition and unequal status, contact can even increase prejudice rather than decrease." So how does one increase the chances of reducing prejudice through contact?

The website suggests that, "the key is to craft situations that will lead to cooperative and interdependent interactions in pursuit of common goals, shifting people to recategorize from 'us and them' to 'we.'"Affirmative action policies for university admissions attempts to accomplish this goal. The system aims to transform a diverse group of individuals into a unified student body. According to Thomas Pettigrew's Inter-group Contact Theory, "Allport's hypothesis specified four conditions for optimal contact. The situation must allow equal group status within the situation, common goals, inter-group cooperation, and authority support. Recent research adds another: The contact situation must have friendship potential." As a college campus is a place where friendships are fostered, it seems that the use of affirmative action with respect to college admissions helps to meet Allport's conditions for optimal contact, and therefore lessen prejudice in the university setting.