ABSTRACT
Reducing prejudice and discrimination occurs most successfully when majority and minority individuals interact, have positive experiences, form personal relationships, engage in open and truthful discussions with each other, and develop a personal commitment to reducing prejudice and discrimination. While there are many ways in which prejudice and discrimination can be reduced, it is through personal relationships with diverse individuals that the most profound and lasting changes in prejudice and discrimination take place. When prejudice and discrimination become personal issues involving people one cares about, commitment to ending prejudice in oneself and others is developed. When friendships develop among diverse individuals, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination are reduced (Pettigrew, 1997). Through personal, one-on-one interaction, categories break down, and outgroup members are perceived in more individualized terms (Brewer & Miller, 1984; Johnson & Johnson, 1980, 1989; Johnson, Johnson, & Maruyama, 1983; Marcus-Newhall et al., 1993).
