ABSTRACT
Social psychology’s long history of interest in group perception has, in the past three decades, progressed and developed in several new and important directions. Work on group perception has evolved and elaborated from a singular focus on the stereotypic associations for various groups into a multifaceted analysis of various aspects of how groups are perceived. Similarly, conceptual understanding of the implications of intergroup contact for changing stereotypic beliefs and prejudicial attitudes has advanced to more sophisticated analyses of how and why rather than simply when. In this chapter we review these developments and highlight their contributions to understanding the dynamics of group perception and intergroup relations.
