Contact Theory

Contact Theory

The theoretical basis of face-to-face exchange is Gordon Allport’s (1954) Contact Theory. Allport observed that inter-group relations can be harmonious when human beings have contact with out-group members, and the interaction adheres to certain conditions:

• Officially-sanctioned
• Reciprocal
• Positive
• Cooperative

According to Allport, even though humans beings universally form strong in-group attachments that originate in the family with their parents, human do have the capacity to accept and acknowledge that a positive disposition toward out-group members will not alter, threaten, or erase their affiliation to and identification with the in-group.