title: Of babies and bathwater, and rabbits and rabbit holes: a plea for conflict prevention, not conflict promotion.
abstract: Dixon et al. overlook the fact that contact predicts not only favorable out-group attitudes/evaluations, but also cognitions, affect, and behavior. The weight of evidence supporting the benefits of intergroup contact cautions against throwing the (contact) baby out with the bathwater. The goal to "ignite struggles" in pursuit of social equality, we argue, incautiously risks hurling us down the proverbial rabbit hole.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom. miles.hewstone@psy.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Miles
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hewstone
authors.forename: Hermann
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Swart
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hodson
mesh_terms: D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011287:Prejudice; D012933:Social Identification