INTERETHNIC CONTACT AS A PREDICTOR OF BLATANT AND SUBTLE PREJUDICE - TESTS OF A MODEL IN 4 WEST-EUROPEAN NATIONS

This paper investigates the role of inter-ethnic contact (neighbourhoo d, as friends, and at: work), alongside other 'background' variables ( education, value orientation and national pride), in reducing prejudic e. This was achieved by secondary analysis of survey data (Eurobaromet er 30, 1988) from respondents in four West European countries, asked a bout various ethnic out-groups (West Germany/Turks; France/Asians; Fra nce/North Africans; Dutch/Turks; Dutch/Surinamese; British/Asians; Bri tish/West Indians). We developed and rested a path model in one sample , and then rested it across six others, first for blatant and then for subtle prejudice. Contact-as-friends had a significant negative effec t on blatant prejudice in six samples; there were also strong negative effects for education and value orientation, and education was a sign ificant predictor of contact-as-friends. Tests of the goodness-of-fit of models with and without contact showed that prediction was signific antly improved by the inclusion of contact-as-friends in four samples. Results were generally parallel for subtle prejudice, but prediction was much weaker. These results are discussed in terms of future interv entions to decrease prejudice and some critical questions concerning t he 'contact hypothesis'.