Intergroup contact with people experiencing poverty reduces hostile but not benevolent classism

Abstract

Intergroup contact can reduce bias against disadvantagedgroups, yet it may differentially shape ambivalent attitudes.This project examines how contact with people experienc-ing poverty relates to ambivalent classism and its policyconsequences. We hypothesized that positive and frequentcontact would have mixed effects, reducing the hostile di-mension of classism while reinforcing benevolent forms(protective paternalism and complementary class differen-tiation). We conducted a multi-country correlational study(N = 4209) examining associations between intergroupcontact and hostile and benevolent dimensions of ambiva-lent classism, incorporating support for social policies inseparate models for women and men experiencing poverty.We then carried out two experimental studies. In Study 2(N = 784), we used a recall paradigm to manipulate contactquality. In Study 3 (N = 931), a conceptual replication, weemployed a fictitious society paradigm to manipulate bothcontact quality and quantity with women and men expe-riencing poverty. Across studies, positive contact consist-ently reduced hostile classism but increased complementaryclass differentiation. Effects on protective paternalism andsupport for dependency-oriented policies were less consist-ent. Overall, the findings suggest that while contact mayattenuate overt hostility, it can simultaneously reinforcebenevolent representations of poverty, with implicationsfor support of restrictive policy measures.