Table 1.

Summary of Differences Between the Literatures

Study characteristic	Intergroup interaction literature	Intergroup contact literature
Dominant study design	Experimental	Cross-sectional
Interaction setting	Artificial	Real-life
Susceptibility to demand characteristics	Less susceptible	More susceptible
Number of interactions	Single occasion	Measures quantity of intergroup interactions or even close cross-group relationships
Duration of interactions	Shorter	Longer (including close relationships)
Familiarity	Unknown outgroup member	Both known and unknown outgroup members
Experience	May or may not have prior experience	Have prior experience by default
Outcome measures	State-level outcome measures; self-relevant intrapsychic outcomes	Trait-level outcome measures; other-relevant outcomes
Intergroup domain	Typically race or ethnicity	Broader range (e.g., race, sexual orientation, age, disabled) but most often race or ethnicity
Outcomes	Intergroup anxiety; discomfort	Less intergroup anxiety; less prejudice

Note: The table reflects typical or dominant conditions. There are exceptions, as discussed in the article.