Research Article The Irony of Harmony Intergroup Contact Can Produce False Expectations for Equality

ABSTRACT—Positive intergroup contact has been a guiding framework for research on reducing intergroup tension and for interventions aimed at that goal. We propose that beyond improving attitudes toward the out-group, positive contact affects disadvantaged-group members ’ percep-tions of intergroup inequality in ways that can under-mine their support for social change toward equality. In Study 1, participants were assigned to either high- or low-power experimental groups and then brought together to discuss either commonalities between the groups or inter-group differences. Commonality-focused contact, relative to difference-focused contact, produced heightened expec-tations for fair (i.e., egalitarian) out-group behavior among members of disadvantaged groups. These expec-tations, however, proved unrealistic when compared against the actions of members of the advantaged groups. Participants in Study 2 were Israeli Arabs (a disadvan-taged minority) who reported the amount of positive con-tact they experienced with Jews. More positive intergroup contact was associated with increased perceptions of Jews as fair, which in turn predicted decreased support for so-cial change. Implications for social change are considered. Recognizing that intergroup inequality exists and that one’s group is disadvantaged within the social system is key in mo-bilizing members of oppressed groups to act for social chang