integration—the area offering the single best test of the contact ap-
proach—they have discovered quite the opposite pattern. School deseg-
regation is more likely to increase prejudice between blacks and whites
than to decrease it.^13
Let’s stay with the issue of school desegregation for a while. However
well intentioned the proponents of interracial harmony through simple
contact, their approach is unlikely to bear fruit because the argument
on which it is based is terribly misinformed. First of all, the school setting
is no melting pot where children interact as readily with members of
other ethnic groups as they do with their own. Years after formal school
integration, there is little social integration. The students clot together
ethnically, separating themselves for the most part from other groups.
Second, even if there were much more interethnic interaction, research
shows that becoming familiar with something through repeated contact
doesn’t necessarily cause greater liking. In fact, continued exposure to
a person or object under unpleasant conditions such as frustration,
conflict, or competition leads to less liking.^14 And the typical American
classroom fosters precisely these unpleasant conditions.
Consider the illuminating report of a psychologist, Elliot Aronson,
called in to consult with school authorities on problems in the Austin,
Texas, schools. His description of how he found education proceeding
in the standard classroom could apply to nearly any public school in
the United States:
In general, here is how it works: The teacher stands in front of the
class and asks a question. Six to ten children strain in their seats
and wave their hands in the teacher’s face, eager to be called on
and show how smart they are. Several others sit quietly with eyes
averted, trying to become invisible, When the teacher calls on one
child, you see looks of disappointment and dismay on the faces
of the eager students, who missed a chance to get the teacher’s
approval; and you will see relief on the faces of the others who
didn’t know the answer.... This game is fiercely competitive and
the stakes are high, because the kids are competing for the love
and approval of one of the two or three most important people in
their world.
Further, this teaching process guarantees that the children will
not learn to like and understand each other. Conjure up your own
experience. If you knew the right answer and the teacher called
on someone else, you probably hoped that he or she would make
a mistake so that you would have a chance to display your
knowledge. If you were called on and failed, or if you didn’t even
raise your hand to compete, you probably envied and resented134 / Influence