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Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that heightened membership salience, achieved by increasing the prototypicality of particular outgroup members during cooperative intergroup contact, facilitates the generalization of positive attitudes toward the outgroup as a whole. The ®rst study (N 64) utilized an experimental paradigm in which the perceived typicality of a target outgroup member and the perceived homogeneity of the outgroup as a whole were manipulated. Consistent with our hypothesis, results indicated that positive attitudinal generalization was facilitated by encounters with typical outgroup members. The eects of membership prototypicality were further examined in a second study (N 293) where a survey was administered in six European Community countries. Results supported the hypothesis that membership salience moderates the impact of contact on a generalized measure of favourable orientation towards another country.One of the most enduring ideas in the study of intergroup relations is the hypothesis that interaction between members of con¯icting groups can reduce the hostility and prejudice between them. Of course, since the classic work of Allport (1954) it has been recognized that this positive outcome is only likely if the contact takes place between groups of equal status in the pursuit of common goals in contexts in which there is institutional support for the closer cooperation of the groups concerned (Amir, 1969;Pettigrew, 1971). In the long history of research into the contact hypothesis one central question has been to discover the conditions in which the positive attitudes

A survey ( N= 352) was conducted among British passengers of a cross-channel ferry. The survey aimed to test hypotheses drawn from Realistic Group Conflict, Social Identity and Contact theories using mainly a correlational design. However, an intervention by members of the outgroup (French fishermen blockading a port) also allowed a quasi-experimental test of the effects of a direct experience of intergroup conflict. Results supported the hypotheses since conflict and national identification were associated with more negative and with less positive attitudes toward the outgroup, while contact had the reverse effects. In addition, the salience of group membership in the contact relationship weakly moderated the effect of contact.

Many factors interact to create barriers to dietary and exercise plan adherence among medically underserved patients with chronic disease, but aspects related to culture and ethnicity are underexamined in the literature. Using both qualitative (n = 71) and quantitative (n = 297) data collected in a 4-year, multimethod study among patients with hypertension and/ or diabetes, the authors explored differences in self-reported adherence to diet and exercise plans and self-reported daily diet and exercise practices across four ethnic groups—Whites, Blacks, Vietnamese, and Latinos—at a primary health care center in Massachusetts. Adherence to diet and exercise plans differed across ethnic groups even after controlling for key sociodemographic variables, with Vietnamese participants reporting the highest adherence. Food and exercise options were shaped by economic constraints as well as ethnic and cultural familiarity with certain foods and types of activity. These findings indicate that health care providers should consider ethnicity and economic status together to increase effectiveness in encouraging diverse populations with chronic disease to make healthy lifestyle changes.

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