The Paradox of Contact: How Quality Contact with Ethnic Minorities Increases Stereotype Structure Alignment

While intergroup contact theory traditionally focuses on prejudice reduction, intergroup contact may paradoxically increase consensus in race-based thinking of others. We measured individuals’ mental representations of how personality traits interrelate for different racial groups at conceptual (abstract) and perceptual (face-based) levels. Stereotype structure alignment was defined as the extent to which an individual’s trait associations across racial group members align with group-typical structures averaged across all participants, capturing shared perceptions. In a diverse Singapore sample comprising Chinese, Malay, and Indian participants (N = 153), quality contact (but not quantity) predicted stronger alignment with shared trait structures for ethnic minorities. Specifically, higher quality contact with minority groups (e.g., Malays) predicted greater convergence in abstract trait associations (but not face-based representations). These findings challenge assumptions about contact’s de-stereotyping effects. Quality contact appears to help people develop more culturally informed trait representations, which shape face perception, revealing a paradox in how intergroup contact influences stereotype structure alignment.