Running Head: FRIENDSHIP, CONTACT, EXCLUSION AND PREJUDICE 1

The Effect of Cross Group Friendship and Extended Contact on Social Exclusion

Reasoning and Levels of Blatant and Subtle Prejudice among Adolescents

Danny Marshall

The University of Kent

FRIENDSHIP, CONTACT, EXCLUSION AND PREJUDICE 2

The Effect of Cross Group Friendship and Extended Contact on Social Exclusion

Reasoning and Levels of Blatant and Subtle Prejudice among Adolescents

Prejudice has been a recurring social problem throughout history, from religious

conflicts and world wars, to the school playground (Brown, 2010). Allport (1979), states that

prejudice is ‘‘an antipathy based upon a faulty and inflexible generalization. It may be felt or

expressed. It may be directed towards a group as a whole, or an individual because he or she

is a member of that group’’. Recent research has lead to a further categorisation of prejudice

into two distinct forms: blatant and subtle (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995). Blatant prejudice is

the more traditional, direct form, and is characterised by a belief that the outgroup presents a

perceived threat. On the other hand, subtle prejudice is defined as the more modern, covert

form. Any prejudicial behaviours are attributed to the defence of the in-group’s traditional

values, with an emphasis on cultural differences. In contrast to blatant prejudice, subtle

prejudice does not involve admitting negative feelings toward the outgroup, instead the

covert denial of positive emotions. Pettigrew (2008) maintains that is connected to the

current social issue of exclusion. Killen and Strangor (2001) found that in peer-based

contexts, one of the most frequent reasons for exclusion amongst children and adolescents is

race. Horn (2003) found that age affects judgments on exclusion, and that participant’s

justifications for peer group exclusion included reliance upon moral reasoning, stereotypes

and personal knowledge. This research seems to suggest that individuals own attitudes or

prejudices may have an effect on why exclusion takes place, for further research is evidently

needed.

The contact hypothesis (Allport, 1979) suggested that under optimal conditions,

intergroup interaction could reduce prejudicial attitudes. The conditions are that there is

equal status between the groups, the groups cooperate and have common goals, and finally

support from institutional authorities. Brown (2010) proposes that the contact hypothesis is

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bi-directional in nature and whilst direct contact between groups does reduce prejudice,

prejudice also reduces contact. This has been attributed to intergroup anxiety, which arises

with being in or perceiving a direct contact situation with an outgroup (Wright, Aron,

McLaughlin-Vople & Ropp, 1997). Wright et al. (1997) established that even vicarious

experiences of positive intergroup friendships lead to lower prejudice levels towards the

outgroup. Extended contact as a measure does not require physical contact, therefore

diminishing intergroup anxiety, and has been found to be just as effective in reducing

prejudice levels (Turner, Hewstone, Voci, Paolini & Christ, 2007). The flexibility of this

measure enables it to be used in situations where direct contact is not practical, or before

initial contact to make it more successful (Cameron & Rutland, 2006). The extended contact

effect has successfully been utilised through the medium of story reading in prejudice

interventions with young children and adolescents, resulting in more positive outgroup

attitudes (Cameron, Rutland, Brown & Douch, 2006; Liebkind & McAllister, 1999).

Cross group friendship has also been found to be an effective form of intergroup

contact and prejudice reduction as it meets many of the optimal intergroup contact criteria

(Allport, 1979; Pettigrew 1997; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006). As Turner, Hewstone, Voci and

Vonofakou (2008) explain, this form of contact has one clear limitation; it can only be used

where there is the opportunity for cross group friendship to occur. By using an extended

contact measure, they found that a positive relationship exists between extended contact and

outgroup attitude, providing strong support for extended contact as a prejudice reduction

measure. Furthermore, close interracial friendships of a high quality have been related to

lower levels of prejudice and racial bias expressed. This effect has been found among

elementary school children and university aged participants (Aboud, Mendelson & Purdey,

2003; White et al., 2009; Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe & Ropp, 1997).

White et al. (2009) conducted a study combining a number of elements from the

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prejudice and intergroup contact literature. The study investigated the effect of friendship

quality and interracial contact on racial prejudice development among adolescents.

Alongside demographic information the following measures were used; the Peer Contact

Questionnaire (PCQ, White et al., 2009); the Friendship Quality Questionnaire; Blatant and

Subtle Prejudice scale (Pettigrew and Meertens, 1995); Friendship Quality Questionnaire

(FQQ, Parker & Asher, 1993); Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR, Paulhus,

1991). This contrasts the majority of prejudice reduction research, which focuses on younger

children and their cognitive development (Aboud, Mendelson & Purdey, 2003; Arthur,

Bigler, Liben, Gelman & Ruble, 2008; Cameron & Rutland, 2006; Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006).

It was found that both the high school and university sample reported higher levels of subtle

prejudice than blatant prejudice. This supports the notion that subtle prejudice is far more

prevalent in today’s society. The high school sample was found to have higher levels of both

forms of prejudice compared to the adolescent sample suggesting that level of education

could play a role in racial attitudes (Dunn & McDonald, 2001). Strong friendship quality and

contact with interracial friends was also found to correlate with significantly lower levels of

prejudice.

The current study will expand the previous research on adolescent interracial

friendships, and include extended contact and social exclusion measures (White et al. 2009).

Participants will be assessed on their interracial peer contact and cross group friendships, and

whether these measures mediate levels of prejudice. In using the BIDR social desirability

scale (White et al., 2009), this will highlight any answers reported by the participants, which

are socially desirable, which has been found in previous prejudice research. Participant’s

attitudes and reasoning will be measured using a selection of scenarios to attain their views of

whether social exclusion on the basis of race is acceptable. Moreover, this study will test

whether extended contact levels with races different from the participant’s own produces

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lower levels of blatant and subtle prejudice. Adolescent participants will be compared from

two different locations of Hornchurch in Essex and Plaistow in East London, to give a wider

geographical perspective on prejudice. The first hypothesis of this study is that participants

will report higher levels of subtle prejudice than blatant prejudice. Secondly, we

hypothesised that due to their geographical location, the east London participants will have a

higher number of interracial friendships, and therefore report lower levels of overall

prejudice. It is also hypothesised that participants who have a higher number of interracial

friends will be less likely to socially exclude on the basis of race. A further hypothesis is that

adolescents, who have extended contact with races different from their own, will report lower

levels of overall prejudice than adolescents who report no contact. Finally, those with a high

social desirability score will report more highly on subtle prejudice measures than blatant

prejudice.

Method

Participants

The Projected number of participants for this experiment is approximately 300 college

students aged 16-19. These will be recruited from one college in Plaistow, Newham and

another college in Hornchurch, Essex.

Design

The study will be a between participants design. There are five predictor variables of

geographical locaiton, quantity of contact, quality of contact, extended contact and social

desirability. The Outcome variables are levels of blatant and subtle prejudice and social

exclusion judgments and reasoning.

Materials

All participants will be presented with a questionnaire which will contain seven

measures. Firstly participants will complete their demographic information (White et al.,

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2009). The next measure is the Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scale (Pettigrew and Meertens,

1995), which will be followed by The Peer Contact Questionnaire (White et al, 2009). This

will be followed by the Friendship Quality Questionnaire (Parker & Asher, 1993).

Participants will then answer questions regarding extended contact taken from Turner et al.

(2008). Socially desirable responding will be accounted for using the Balanced Inventory of

Desirable Responding (1990). Finally, participants reasoning about social exclusion will be

assessed using social exclusion scenarios adapted from Horn (2003).

Measures

There will be seven questionnaires that will be used in this experiment:

Demographic Information (White et al. 2009)

Demographic information about the participants will be collected through the questionnaire,

with questions pertaining to their age, sex, and ethnic background.

The Blatant and Subtle Prejudice Scales (Pettigrew & Meertens, 1995)

Participants will respond to 20 items, 10 items per prejudice type. Within the subtle prejudice

items are the components of defence of traditional values, the exaggerations of cultural

differences and the denial of positive emotions. Within the 10 blatant prejudice items are the

components of threat and rejection and anti. Scoring will be from a four item likert scale with

responses from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’. From these items, a total prejudice

score will then be calculated and used for analysis.

Peer Contact Questionnaire (PCQ) (White et al., 2009)

The six Peer contact questions assess the number of close friends the participant has, their

close friends ethnic group and the amount of contact the participant has with the said friends.

The questionnaire also measures the participant’s perceptions of the quality of their

friendships with the close friends and the extent to which their racial attitudes are similar.

Friendship Quality Questionnaire (FQQ) (Parker & Asher, 1993)

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The FQQ requires participants to rate 40 items on a five point scale (from 0 = not at all true

to 4 = really true) to determine how true each statement is in reference to a friendship with a

specific friend.

Extended Contact Questions (Turner et al., 2008)

This measure consists of five questions, taken from Turner et al. (2008) and will assess the

participant’s levels of extended contact with races different from their own. The questions

assess how many people participants know that have friends of a different race from their

own.

Paulhus (1990) Balanced Inventory of Social Desirability (BIDR)

The BIDR measures the extent to which the participant’s responses are socially desirable.

The 40 item scale consists of two subscales of self deception and impression management.

Each item will be rated from a selection of seven responses ranging from not true to very

true.

Social Exclusion and Distributive Justice Scenarios (Horn, 2003)

Each participant will be presented with five hypothetical scenarios which have been adapted

from Horn (2003) to be more applicable to students in the United Kingdom. Participants will

rate the scenario to be either acceptable or not acceptable, and write a few sentences to

explain their reasoning.

Procedure

Participants will be given an Information sheet outlining the study, without revealing

the aim of the research. Individuals will then be asked for their informed consent for

participating in the questionnaire study. Provided the participants give their consent, the

questionnaire will be administered and upon completion participants will be fully debriefed.

explain their reasoning.

Projected Timetable

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Event Projected Date

Preparation of Materials 3rd November 2010
Ethical Approval 3rd November – 10th November 2010
Contact Colleges 10th November 2010
Data Collection 17th November 2010 – 30st November 2010
Data Entry and processing 1st December 2010
Data Analysis 14th December 2010 onwards

Ethics

All participants will be asked for their informed consent, and be fully debriefed at the

end of the experiment. Participants will be told that they have the opportunity to withdraw at

any time, and that their data will be anonymous and confidential.

Analysis

A multiple regression analysis will be used to measure each of the predictor variables

to see whether each variable has an independent effect on the three outcome measures.

References

Aboud, F. E., Mendelson, M. J., & Purdy, K. T. (2003). Cross-race peer relations and
friendship quality. The International Society for the Study of Behavioural
Development, 27, 165-173. doi:10.1080/01650250244000164
Allport, G. (1979). The Nature of Prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Arthur A. E., Bigler, R. S., Liben, L. S., Gelman, S. A., & Ruble, D. N. (2008). In S. R. Levy
& M. Killen (Eds.), Intergroup attitudes and relations in childhood through

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adulthood (pp. 66-86). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Brown, R. (2010). Prejudice: Its social psychology (2nd ed.). Oxford, England: Wiley-
Blackwell.
Cameron, L., Rutland, A., Brown, R., & Douch, R. (2006). Changing children’s intergroup
attitudes toward refugees: Testing different models of extended contact. Child
Development, 77, 1208-1219. doi:0009-3920/2006/7705-0007
Cameron, L. & Rutland, A. (2006). Extended contact through story reading in school:
Reducing children’s prejudice toward the disabled. Journal of Social Issues, 62, 469-
488. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.2006.00469
Dunn, K.M. & McDonald, A. (2001). The geography of racisms in NSW: A theoretical
exploration and some preliminary findings. Australian Geographer, 32, 29-44.
doi:10.1080/00049180020036231
Horn, S. S. (2003). Adolescents’ reasoning about exclusion form social groups.
Developmental Psychology, 39, 71-84. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.39.1.71
Killen, M., & Stangor, C. (2001). Children’s social reasoning about inclusion and exclusion
in gender and race peer groups. Child Development, 72, 174-186. doi:10.1111/1467-
8624.00272
Liebkind, K., & McAlister, A. L. (1999). Extended contact through peer modelling to
promote tolerance in Finland. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 765-780.
doi:0046-2772/99/050765-16
Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood:
Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction.
Developmental Psychology, 29, 611-621. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.29.4.611
Paulhus, D. L. (1991). Measurement and control of response bias. In J. P. Robinson, P. R.
Shaver, & L. S. Wrightsman (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological
attitudes (pp.17-59). San Diego: Academic Press.
Pettigrew, T. F. (2008). Future directions for intergroup contact theory and research.
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 32, 187-199.
doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2007.12.002
Pettigrew, T. F. (1997). Generalized intergroup contact effects on prejudice. Personality and
Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 173–185. doi:10.1177/0146167297232006
Pettigrew, T. F., & Meertens, R. W. (1995). Subtle and blatant prejudice in Western Europe.
European Journal of Social Psychology, 25, 57-25. doi:0046-2772/95/010057-19
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory.

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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 751–783. doi:10.1037/0022-

3514.90.5.751
Turner, R. N., Hewston, M., Voci, A., Paolini, A., & Christ, O. (2007). Reducing prejudice
via direct and extended cross-group friendship. European Review of Social
Psychology, 18, 212-255. doi:10.1080/10463280701680297
Turner, R. N., Hewstone, M., Voci, A., & Vonofakou, C. (2008). A Test of the Extended
intergroup contact hypothesis: The mediating role of intergroup anxiety, perceived
ingroup and outgroup norms, and inclusion of the outgroup in the self. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 843-860. doi:10.1037/a0011434
White, F. A., Wooton, B., Man, J., Diaz, H., Rasiah, J., Swift, E., & Wilkinson, A. (2009).
Adolescent racial prejudice development: The role of friendship quality and
interracial contact. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33, 524-534.
doi:10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.06.008
Wright, S. C., Aron, A., McLaughlin-Volpe, T., & Ropp, S. A. (1997). The extended contact
effect: Knowledge of cross-group friendships and prejudice. Interpersonal Relations
and Group Processes, 73, 73–90. doi:0022-3514/97

Appendix A

Blatant and Sutle Prejudice Scale Items

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Blatant Prejudice Scale Items

Other races have jobs that the British should have

People from other races who live here and receive support from the welfare could get along

without if they tried

British people and people from other races can never really be comfortable with each other,

even if they are close friends

Most politicians in Britain care too much about people from other races and not enough about

the average British person

Other races come from less able races, this explains why they are not as well off as most

British people

How different or similar do you think people from other races living here are to other British

people like yourself – in how honest they are?

Suppose that a child of yours had children with a person of a very different colour and

physical characteristics than your own. If you grandchildren did not physically resemble the

people on your side of the family, Do you think you would be....

I would be willing to have sexual relationships with a person from a race different from my

own

I would not mind if a suitably qualified person from a race different from my own was

appointed as my boss

I would not mind if a person from a race different from my own who had a similar economic

background as mine joined my close family by marriage

Subtle Prejudice Scale Items

People from other races to my own living here should not push themselves where they are not

wanted

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Many other groups have come to Britain and overcome prejudice and worked their way up,

people from other races to my own should do the same without special favour

It is just a matter of some people not trying hard enough. If people from other races to my

own would only try harder they would be as well off as British people

People from other races to my own living here teach their children values and skills different

from those required to be successful in Britain

How different or similar do you think people from other races to your own living here are to

other British people like yourself...

In the values that they teach their children?

In their religious beliefs and practices?

In their sexual values or Sexual practices?

In the language that they speak?

Have you ever felt the following way about a person from a different race from your own and

their families living here

How often have you felt sympathy for people from races different from your own living

here?

How often have you felt admiration for people from a race different from your own living

here?

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Appendix B

Peer Contact Questionnaire Items

How many ‘close’ friends do you have, that is, friends that you share personal information
with?

List the first names (only) of your close friends

List the cultural group that each of your close friends belong to. For example if you answered
two close friends in Q.2 then you need to list two ethnic groups below:

List the amount of weekly contact (including both face-to-face interventions and
phone/internet conversations) with each of these friends:

Rate the overall quality of your friendship with each of these close friends on a scale of 1-10
(where 1 = low quality, 5 = medium quality and 10 = high quality)

Please rate the degree of similarity between you and your close friend’s racial attitude on a
scale of 1-10 (where 1 = very different, 5 = unsure and 10 = very similar)

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Appendix C

Friendship Quality Items

My friend and I always sit together at lunch

My friend and I get mad a lot

My friend tells me I am good at things

My friend sticks up for me if others talk behind my back

My friend and I make each other feel important and special

My friend and I always pick each other as partners for things

My friend says, “I’m sorry” if they hurt my feelings

My friend sometimes says mean things about me to other people

My friend has good ideas about games to play

My friend and I talk about how to get over being mad at each other

My friend would like me even if others didn’t

My friend tells me I am pretty smart

My friend and I always tell each other about our problems

My friend makes me feel good about my ideas

My friend and I talk to each other when annoyed about something that happened to me

My friend and I help each other with chores a lot

My friend and do favours for each other

My friend and I do fun things together a lot

My friend and I argue a lot

My friend can be counted upon to keep promises

My friend and I go to each other’s houses

My friend and I always spend time together at break times

My friend gives advice with figuring things out

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My friend and I talk about the things that make us sad

My friend and I make up easily when we have a fight

My friend and I fight a lot

My friend and I share things with each other

My friend and I talk about how to make ourselves feel better if we are mad at each other

My friend does not tell others my secrets

My friend and I bug each other a lot

My friend and come up with good ideas on ways to do things

My friend and loan each other things all the time

My friend helps me so that I can get done quicker

My friend and I get over our arguments really quickly

My friend and I count on each other for good ideas on how to get things done

My friend does not listen to me

My friend and I tell each other private things

My friend and I help each other with schoolwork a lot

My friend and I tell each other secrets

My friend cares about my feelings

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Appendix D

Exended Contact Items

How many people do you know who have friends who are of another race?

1 = none, 2 = a few, 3 = about half, 4 = more than half, 5 = most

How many of your neighbours do you think have friends who are of another race?

1 = none, 2 = one, 3 = two to five, 4 = five to ten, 5= ten or more

How many of your friends have friends who are of another race?

1 = none, 2 = one, 3 = two to five, 4 = five to ten, 5= ten or more

How many of your very best friends have friends who are of another race?

1 = none, 2 = one, 3 = two to five, 4 = five to ten, 5= ten or more

How many members of your family (including parents, brothers and sisters, cousins etc) have

friends who are of another race?

1 = none, 2 = one, 3 = two to five, 4 = five to ten, 5= ten or more

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Appendix E

Social Desirability Scale Items

I always throw my litter into a bin on the street.

I have received too much change from a sales assistant without telling them.

When I hear people talking privately I avoid listening.

I have taken things that didn't belong to me.

I sometimes tell lies if I have to.

I always keep my promises, no matter how inconvenient it might be to do so.

I have taken sick-leave from work or school even though I wasn't really sick.

I like to gossip about other people's business.

I have done things that I don't tell other people about.

I say only good things about my friends behind their backs.

I sometimes put things off until tomorrow what I should do today.

I always declare everything at customs.

I have some pretty awful habits.

I always tell the truth.

I am sometimes late for appointments.

I always obey traffic laws even if I'm unlikely to get caught.

When I was a child I obeyed my parents.

I sometimes pick my nose.

I am always polite to others including my friends and family.

I have never cheated on a test or assignment in any way.

I have sometimes hated one or both of my parents.

I am always free of guilt.

Seeing any attractive person of the opposite sex makes me think about having sex.

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I have sometimes felt like I wanted to kill someone.

I could easily quit any of my bad habits if I wanted to.

I always accept criticism if it is accurate.

I have felt physically attracted to at least one person of the same sex.

I have felt joy over someone else's failure.

I always return a favor without hesitation.

It's alright with me if some people happen to dislike me.

I'm not interested in knowing what other people really think of me.

My parents only punished me when I really deserved it.

I sometimes get jealous over the good fortune of others.

My parents always loved me no matter what I did.

I often have sexual fantasies.

I have always been certain that I am not homosexual.

I have always been confident about my ability as a sex partner.

I usually enjoy my bowel movements very much.

At times I have wanted to rape or be raped by someone.

I have thought of committing suicide to get back at someone.

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Appendix E

Joe is trying out for the football team. The other guys on the team don’t want Joe to be on the

team because he is Asian.

Is this acceptable/not acceptable? (circle as appropriate)

Jason is running for student council. The other students don’t want Jason to be on student

council because he is black. They tell all of their friends not to vote for Jason for this reason.

Is this acceptable/not acceptable? (circle as appropriate)

Heather is trying out for the college dance team. The other girls who are already on the team

don’t want Heather to be on the team because she is white.

Is this acceptable/not acceptable? (circle as appropriate)

The Cheriton College has received a grant to send some students to London for a national

convention on student leadership. The principal has asked the five students who attended the

conference last year to select the students who will attend the conference this year. He gives

them a list of names of 20 students who have expressed interest in going to the conference.

They notice that Jamaal is on the list. Even though they don’t know him they decide not to

choose him because he is black.

Is this acceptable/not acceptable? (circle as appropriate)

A former Cheriton College student has set up a University scholarship fund for one Cheriton

College pupil who exhibits promising academic ability and a commitment of service to the

community. The principal has put together a student committee to review the applications for

the scholarship. In looking at the applications the reviewers come across one from Krupali,

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and decide not to choose her because she is Asian.

Is this acceptable/not acceptable? (circle as appropriate)

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