’A cooperative experience with ethnic minorities reduces discrimination

Abstract

Can a brief personal interaction with a person from an ethnic minority reduce discrimination? We run a natural field experiment with small teams of Dutch high-school pupils who engage in a cooperative task, accompanied by either a majority or a minority team member. One month later, the pupils participated in experimental games with a minority or majority partner. Pupils who have no peers from an ethnic minority in their regular school classes displayed less discrimination against a minority partner if they had been assigned to a team with a minority member. The results show that even a brief cooperative interaction with minorities can reduce discrimination by individuals who lack prior personal contact.