Can Caring Create Prejudice? An Investigation of Positive and Negative Intergenerational Contact in Care Settings and the Generalisation of Blatant and Subtle Age Prejudice to Other Older People

Abstract

Caring is a positive social act, but can it result in negative attitudes towards those cared for, and towards others from their wider social group? Based on intergroup contact theory, we tested whether care workers' (CWs) positive and negative contact with old‐age care home residents (CHRs) predicts prejudiced attitudes towards that group, and whether this generalises to other older people. Fifty‐six CWs were surveyed about their positive and negative contact with CHRs and their blatant and subtle attitudes (humanness attributions) towards CHRs and older adults. We tested indirect paths from contact with CHRs to attitudes towards older adults via attitudes towards CHRs. Results showed that neither positive nor negative contact generalised blatant ageism. However, the effect of negative, but not positive, contact on the denial of humanness to CHRs generalised to subtle ageism towards older adults. This evidence has practical implications for management of CWs' work experiences and theoretical implications, suggesting that negative contact with a subgroup generalises the attribution of humanness to superordinate groups. Because it is difficult to identify and challenge subtle prejudices such as dehumanisation, it may be especially important to reduce negative contact. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Demobilising by legitimising: Masculine honour, positive and negative contact, and social activism against criminal organisations

“…This theoretical perspective suggests that masculine honour values should be associated only with positive, but not negative, instances of contact with COs’ members. In line with prior research, it can be expected that positive contact is related to positive intergroup evaluations (Dhont, Cornelis, & van Hiel, 2010; Wölfer et al, 2017), whilst any experiences of negative contact are related to negative intergroup evaluations (Aberson, 2015; Drury, Abrams, Swift, Lamont, & Gerocova, 2017; Wölfer et al, 2017). Therefore, individuals’ endorsement of masculine honour values may predict positive contact with COs, which in turn may lead to positive evaluation of COs.…”

When contact goes wrong: Negative intergroup contact promotes generalized outgroup avoidance

“…The fact that we did not find a direct association between primary outgroup contact and secondary outgroup intentions (after controlling for secondary outgroup contact) does not undermine the validity of our results. Indeed, this pattern of indirect effects in the absence of direct effects is not uncommon in the literature on the secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact (e.g., Brylka et al, 2016; Drury, Abrams, Swift, Lamont, & Gerocova, 2017; Harwood et al, 2011; Vezzali & Giovannini, 2012). In this study, we employed a new outcome variable exploring the generalization of avoidance rather than attitudes.…”

“…Indeed, this pattern of indirect effects in the absence of direct effects is not uncommon in the literature on the secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact (e.g. Brylka et al, 2016;Drury, Abrams, Swift, Lamont, Gerocova, 2017;Harwood et al, 2011;Vezzali & Giovanni, 2012). In this study we employed a new outcome variable, exploring the generalization of avoidance rather than attitudes.…”

Exposure to intergroup conspiracy theories promotes prejudice which spreads across groups

“…It is the indirect path, in which exposure to conspiracy theories increases prejudice towards secondary groups through prejudice towards the primary outgroup that provides evidence of attitude generalization. These findings remind us of the secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact (e.g., Pettigrew, ; Tausch et al ., ), where this pattern of indirect effects in the absence of direct effects is similarly common (e.g., Brylka et al ., ; Drury, Abrams, Swift, Lamont, & Gerocova, ; Harwood et al ., ; Vezzali & Giovannini, ). Importantly, our findings suggest that conspiracy theories not only have the potential to increase prejudice towards the group at the centre of the alleged conspiracy but can transfer to other, uninvolved groups.…”