Experimental Evidence for the Secondary Transfer Effect: An Investigation of Direct and Vicarious Contact in the Laboratory

ABSTRACT Positive intergroup contact promotes positive outgroup attitudes (primary transfer effect; PTE), and these primary outgroup attitudes can generalise to other outgroups (the secondary transfer effect; STE). However, experimental evidence demonstrating the STE is rare. We collected data from 116 White South African female participants using a pretest‐posttest‐delayed‐posttest design with randomised allocation across three conditions (direct contact, vicarious contact, control), in the first simultaneous laboratory experimental test of the STE of both direct and vicarious contact. Participants in the vicarious contact condition observed another White South African female (an ingroup friend) in the direct contact condition completing a Relationship Closeness Induction Task with a female Black (African) South African (primary outgroup) confederate. We found: (1) a PTE for outgroup attitudes (but not trust) at immediate‐ and delayed‐posttest; (2) an STE (for attitudes, but not trust) at immediate‐ and delayed‐posttest: direct and vicarious contact with the primary outgroup improved attitudes towards Coloured South Africans (secondary outgroup) via changes in primary outgroup attitudes; and (3) an STE for a more demanding version of the STE, namely attitude‐to‐trust generalisation: changes in primary outgroup attitudes promoted changes in secondary outgroup trust at immediate‐ and delayed‐posttest. We discuss the contrasting results we observed for the generalisation of outgroup attitudes versus the generalisation of outgroup trust and offer suggestions for future research. These encouraging results should support future interventions designed to reduce prejudice across multiple outgroups.