Page 288 - Essencials of Sociology

Prejudice and Discrimination 261

Down-to-Earth Sociology

Living in the Dorm: Contact Theory

rom your own experience, you know that friends What happens if colleges assign students of different ra-
influence one another. Much of this influence comes cial–ethnic groups to the same dorm rooms? These students
Ffrom talking. As friends talk about their experiences and end up with more interracial friendships than those who have
share their ideas, they help give shape to one another’s views roommates of their own race–ethnicity.
of life. On the negative side, these mixed pairing arrangements
It is no different for friends who are from different racial– are more likely to fail. About 17 percent end during the
ethnic groups. As they interact with one another, their school year, compared to 10 percent of white–white pairings
understandings change and and 9 percent of black–black
their perspectives broaden. pairings. The dissatisfactions
Over time, if they cannot see the cut both ways, with blacks and
world through each other’s eyes, whites requesting transfers at
they at least get a glimpse of about the same rate.
what that world looks like. But note that the vast majority
If one of the goals of col- of these interracial pairings last.
lege is to increase students’ They don’t always blossom into
understanding of the world and friendships, of course, and like
change their attitudes while other roommate assignments,
helping to integrate racial– some roommates can barely toler-
ethnic groups—and this is a big ate one another. But contacts and
if—then why do some colleges cross-racial friendships do increase
have separate dorms for Afri- in most cases, changing under-
can American students, Jewish standings and perspectives. We
students, and so on? And when need in-depth research to uncover
there aren’t separate dorms, why who is changed in what ways.
do some colleges assign room- To summarize the sociological
mates so blacks will room with Contact theory indicates that prejudice decreases and relations research: Mutual understandings
blacks and whites with whites? improve when individuals of different racial–ethnic backgrounds increase, prejudice decreases,
The goal of such room as- who are of equal status interact frequently. These two freshmen and relations improve when
are roommates at DePaul University in Chicago.
signments, of course, is to people of different racial–ethnic
make minority students feel backgrounds interact frequently
comfortable and help prevent them from feeling lost in a and work toward mutual goals with equal status. The shorthand
sea of white faces and suffering from anomie, feelings of not for these findings is contact theory.
belonging. Source: Based on Riley 2009.
These good intentions have an unanticipated result. As
African American students interact in these “little corners” of
the campus, their interracial friendships decrease. At the end For Your Consideration
of their freshman year in college, African American students ↑ Do you think colleges should eliminate racially and ethni-
have about 10 percent fewer interracial friends than when cally themed dormitories? What is your opinion about col-
they began college. They are the only group to experience a leges assigning students of different racial–ethnic groups to
decline in interracial–ethnic friendships. the same dorm rooms?

The Far-Reaching Nature of Prejudice. It is amazing how much prejudice people can
learn. In a classic article, psychologist Eugene Hartley (1946) asked people how they felt
about several racial–ethnic groups. Besides Negroes, Jews, and so on, he included the Wal-
lonians, Pireneans, and Danireans—names he had made up. Most people who expressed
dislike for Jews and Negroes showed similar contempt for these three fictitious groups. contact theory the idea that
Hartley’s study shows that prejudice does not depend on negative experiences with prejudice and negative stereotypes
others. It also reveals that people who are prejudiced against one racial or ethnic group decrease and racial-ethnic rela-
also tend to be prejudiced against other groups. People can be, and are, prejudiced tions improve when people from
against people they have never met—and even against groups that do not exist! different racial-ethnic backgrounds,
The neo-Nazis and the KKK base their existence on prejudice. These groups believe who are of equal status, interact
that race is real, that white is best, and that beneath society’s surface is a murky river of frequently