Contact and Anxiety as Predictors of Bias Toward the Homeless¹

Abstract

We examined contact and anxiety as predictors of attitudes toward the homeless and attributions for homelessness. Study 1 presents data on undergraduates' attitudes, Study 2 reports on student and nonstudent data from an Internet survey, and Study 3 examined attitudes of individuals who have been homeless at one time. Structural equation modeling and path analyses indicated that data fit our conceptual model well and that contact quality consistently predicted more positive attitudes and situational attributions for homelessness. However, contact quantity did not reliably predict attitudes or attributions, and the mediating role of anxiety was inconsistent across studies. We contrast results with findings regarding attitudes toward other types of out‐groups and suggest reasons for why our findings differ.

Can (elaborated) imagined contact interventions reduce prejudice among those higher in intergroup disgust sensitivity (ITG‐DS)?

“…It is presently unclear why intergroup anxiety was not impacted by our manipulations. Contact effects on attitudes toward the homeless through anxiety can be inconsistent (Aberson & McVean, ), and although past IC studies sometimes find that anxiety mediates IC effects, these studies examine targets such as homosexuals, the elderly, Muslims, and asylum seekers (e.g., Birtel & Crisp, ; Turner et al., , ,). It is possible that contact with the homeless, a particularly deviant, low‐status, and unpredictable social group, might be less relevant to concerns over how socially awkward one might personally act and feel (i.e., intergroup anxiety) and more relevant to whether the out‐group itself is considered trustworthy.…”

“…In particular, the homeless are highly stigmatized (Phelan, Link, Moore, & Stueve, 1997), viewed as the "lowest of the low" (Harris & Fiske, 2006), and rejected by those higher in ITG-DS (Hodson et al, 2013). Encouragingly, high-quality (actual) contact with the homeless predicts lower prejudice (Aberson & McVean, 2008), offering promise for IC and EIC to weaken relations between ITG-DS and out-group prejudice.…”

Penny for Your Thoughts: Beggars and the Exercise of Morality in Daily Life1

“…More broadly, the increased exposure to out‐group members, including radical ones such as homeless persons, has been associated with increasingly positive attitudes toward them (Lee et al, 2004) and with the erosion of negative stereotypes (Knecht and Martinez, 2009). Further research has found the quality of the contact to be a particularly significant predictor of positive attitudes toward beggars, with an actual exchange of words significantly improving respondents’ attitudes (Aberson and McVean, 2008). Even when incivility ensues, it does not inevitably result in negative attitudes: a large‐scale survey project looking at encounters with so‐called uncivil acts found that they often generated pro‐social intentions in their victims (Smith et al, 2010).…”

Perceptions of Students about Younger and Older Men and Women who May Be Homeless

“…Of the literature that directly investigates the attitudes and beliefs of students in professional education programs toward homeless persons, some has focused on the fear, anxiety, and discomfort of the future professional with interventions that have sought to remedy this discomfort (Aberson & McVean, 2008;Buchanan et al, 2004). Reducing fear of contact and professional anxiety are important goals to ensure that practitioners are willing to work with homeless persons.…”