Concept and background
Since Allport's (1954) contact hypothesis, many studies have shown that contact with outgroup members reduces prejudice toward that group. Whether the effect stays with the contacted group or spreads to others long remained an open question. Pettigrew (1997) reported from data in several European countries that people with a friend from one outgroup were less prejudiced toward other outgroups. Pettigrew (2009) named this the secondary transfer effect and explained that attitude change toward a directly contacted group transfers to uncontacted groups.
Research evidence
Tausch and colleagues (2010), using data from Cyprus, Northern Ireland and the United States, showed that contact with one outgroup improves attitudes toward other outgroups. They confirmed that the effect remains after controlling for the alternative explanation that already tolerant people simply have contact with many groups. Schmid and colleagues (2012) showed with data from eight European countries that contact with immigrants is linked to improved attitudes toward other groups such as gay people, Jews and Muslims. Vezzali and Giovannini (2012) reported in a study of Italian students that reduced intergroup anxiety and perspective taking support this transfer.
Mechanisms and significance
Researchers propose several mechanisms. The first is attitude generalization: positive attitudes toward the contacted group spread to groups seen as similar. The second is what Pettigrew (1998) called deprovincialization: getting to know outgroups leads people to realize that the ingroup's norms and perspectives are not the only standard, reducing ingroup centrism. The third is general emotional change such as reduced anxiety and increased empathy. Because contact programs can thus raise tolerance across society rather than toward one group only, the effect has important implications for multicultural policy and education.
FAQ
- What is the secondary transfer effect in simple terms?
- Becoming friends with someone from one outgroup and then becoming less prejudiced toward other outgroups you have never met.
- Why does it happen?
- Positive attitudes spread to similar groups, people realize their ingroup's view is not the only standard, and anxiety falls while empathy rises.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Cambridge, MA: Addison-Wesley. The classic that launched the contact hypothesis.
- Pettigrew, T. F. (1997). Generalized intergroup contact effects on prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23(2), 173–185. Early European evidence for generalized contact effects.
- Pettigrew, T. F. (1998). Intergroup contact theory. Annual Review of Psychology, 49, 65–85. Introduces ingroup reappraisal and deprovincialization.
- Pettigrew, T. F. (2009). Secondary transfer effect of contact: Do intergroup contact effects spread to noncontacted outgroups? Social Psychology, 40(2), 55–65. The paper naming the secondary transfer effect.
- Tausch, N., Hewstone, M., Kenworthy, J. B., Psaltis, C., Schmid, K., Popan, J. R., Cairns, E., & Hughes, J. (2010). Secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact: Alternative accounts and underlying processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(2), 282–302. Tests alternative accounts across several countries.
- Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., Küpper, B., Zick, A., & Wagner, U. (2012). Secondary transfer effects of intergroup contact: A cross-national comparison in Europe. Social Psychology Quarterly, 75(1), 28–51. A cross-national European comparison.
- Vezzali, L., & Giovannini, D. (2012). Secondary transfer effect of intergroup contact: The role of intergroup attitudes, intergroup anxiety and perspective taking. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 22(2), 125–144. Anxiety and perspective taking as mediators.