Intergroup Relations Programs:
How Effective Are They?
by Walter G. Stephan and Cookie White Stephan
Programs that are designed to improve intergroup relations are
now conducted in many different countries around the world. They
have been developed by psychologists, sociologists, educators, political
scientists, and organizational development specialists, among others.
For years, little was written about these programs and many remain
undocumented to this day. The social problems that these programs
address – prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination among
groups differing in racial, ethnic, gender, religious, and cultural
background – are widespread in many societies. Without intervention,
these problems are likely to become more intense in the future due
to migration and increased cultural contact between groups.
 In
the last two years, we have reviewed the English language literature
on the published evaluations of programs to improve intergroup relations
(Stephan & Stephan, 2001). In addition, we performed a statistical
analysis (a meta-analysis) of the overall results of the published
quantitative assessments of these programs (Stephan, Renfro, &
Stephan, in press). We found six basic types of programs that have
been developed to improve intergroup relations: multicultural education,
diversity training, intergroup dialogues, cooperative learning groups,
conflict resolution techniques, and moral education. We will briefly
describe each type of program and discuss the findings regarding
its outcomes, and will then close with a discussion of the meta-analysis
of quantitative findings. With the exception of cooperative learning
programs, we found surprisingly few published evaluations.
General Review of the Literature
Multicultural education programs take place in public schools,
mostly in the early years. They are based on the premise that students
of all groups should learn about the history and  culture
of other racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious groups in order
to be able to co-exist in diverse societies. The picture that emerges
from studies of multicultural education programs is predominantly
positive. Of the 31 studies we reviewed, 13 found predominantly
positive effects, 9 found a mixture of positive effects and no effects,
5 found no effects, 2 found a mixture of positive and negative effects,
and 2 found primarily negative effects on measures related to intergroup
relations.
Diversity training is used in organizational settings. It
attempts to increase the participants’ awareness of dissimilarities
among racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups, and lead them
to value these differences. Only a small number of studies has been
published on their effects. Of the 7 evaluations we reviewed, 3
of these programs reported considerable success in changing attitudes,
3 others obtained a mixture of positive and negative effects, and
1 was unsuccessful in improving intergroup relations.
Intergroup dialogue programs are conducted in universities
and community settings. They involve a series of face-to-face discussions
and experiential exercises among members of two conflicting groups,
facilitated by trainers. There have been very few empirical studies
of the effects of dialogue groups. Two studies indicate a number
of positive effects on intergroup relations, although some of the
measures revealed no differences. One of these studies found predominantly
positive effects three years after the completion of a one semester
program, suggesting that these programs can have lasting effects.
In cooperative learning groups, students from different
racial and ethnic groups are brought together in small, cooperative
work groups to learn standard academic materials. A great many studies
of the effects of cooperative learning groups have been conducted.
Overall, there is compelling evidence that cooperative learning
improves intergroup relations through increased liking for outgroup
members and cross-racial friendships. In addition, the academic
achievement of minority students increases in cooperative learning
groups.
Intergroup conflict resolution techniques teach conflict
resolution skills to members of contending groups. They are used
in both schools and community settings. Much of the empirical data
has examined the use of peer mediation in primary and secondary
schools. The literature shows that these programs are typically
effective in teaching students and mediation skills, but none of
the studies has directly assessed intergroup relations outcomes.
The primary goal of moral education programs is to increase
students’ levels of moral reasoning, but some also attempt
to improve intergroup relations indirectly through their emphasis
on justice and egalitarianism in the entire school community. Numerous
studies indicate that moral education programs increase levels of
moral reasoning, but there are almost no studies of the effects
of moral development programs on intergroup attitudes or behaviors.
However, some studies indicate that high levels of moral development
are linked with low levels of prejudice.
Meta-analysis
Meta-analysis is a methodology that allows the researcher to combine
data from a variety of quantitative studies to evaluate the overall
outcomes of the various research studies. With the exception of
the cooperative learning programs, studies of intergroup relations
programs have not been subjected to meta-analyses. To remedy this
deficit, we conducted a meta-analysis of the remaining types of
intergroup relations programs. All of these studies employed one
of three types of designs (pre-test/post-test with control group,
pre-test/post-test, or post-test treatment vs. control group). We
located 58 articles containing quantitative data but, due to a variety
of methodological problems, we were able to include only 35 articles
in the meta-analysis.
The participants in these studies ranged in age from kindergarten
through adulthood. The treatment programs took place in the U. S.,
as well as in several other countries, and ranged from 4-80 hours
in length. The programs contained one or more of the following treatments:
lectures, readings, library research, films/videos, discussions
involving all the participants, small group discussions, experiential
exercises (e.g. simulations, role-playing), contact with target
group members, and one-on-one dialogues. Most programs took place
in educational institutions, but some were conducted in work and
recreational settings. These studies examined measures of attitude
change (e.g. perceived group differences, liking for outgroup members)
and behavior change (e.g. discouraging racist comments, demonstrations
of multicultural skills).
The results of this analysis showed that, when the effects were
measured immediately after the program, small but significant positive
changes were found on both attitude and behavior measures. The magnitude
of the effect suggests that the programs are not as successful as
they might be. Delayed measures of the effects of these programs
on attitude and behavior showed somewhat larger positive effects.
These data indicate that attitude and behavior changes can be sustained
over time. We were unable to determine what specific program components
(e.g. discussion, experiential exercises) were most closely associated
with the success of the programs. It may be the case that successful
attitude and behavior change are not dependent on specific interventions
in intergroup relations programs but on the manner in which the
program contents are conveyed.
The results of our reviews and analyses clearly demonstrate that
more research on the outcomes of intergroup relations techniques
is needed. Three types of research are most needed: outcome evaluations
to establish the effectiveness of understudied techniques, qualitative
and quantitative research on the processes underlying improvements
in intergroup relations, and comparative studies to examine the
relative effectiveness of different techniques. Until practitioners
are certain they understand program outcomes and why their programs
produced the outcomes found, they will not have maximally effective
programs.
References
Stephan, C. W., Renfro, L., & Stephan, W. G. (in press). The
evaluation of intergroup relations programs: Techniques and a meta-analysis.
In W. G. Stephan & W. P. Vogt (Eds.), Multicultural Education
Programs. New York: Teachers College Press.
Stephan, W. G., & Stephan, C. W. (2001). Improving intergroup
relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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