The other who makes us larger

In 1954, American psychologist Gordon Allport published The Nature of Prejudice. In it he put forward what has since been called the "contact hypothesis": under the right conditions, contact between members of different groups is one of the most effective ways to reduce prejudice. Those conditions: equal status in the encounter, common goals, cooperation rather than competition, and the support of authorities or social norms.

Half a century later, psychologists Thomas Pettigrew and Linda Tropp put the idea to the test. Their 2006 meta-analysis brings together 515 studies, conducted with a quarter of a million people in 38 countries. The verdict: contact between groups is associated with less prejudice, and the effect is even clearer in experimental studies. It also holds for groups other than those defined by "race" or origin. Friendships between groups and Allport's conditions strengthen the effect.

In 2008, the two researchers asked why. Three mechanisms are at work: getting to know the other group better, feeling less anxious about being around it, and developing empathy. Learning facts helps, but it is above all reduced anxiety and the ability to put yourself in someone else's place that push prejudice back.

In other words, ignorance is not cured with books alone. It recedes when fear recedes, one face at a time. That is the whole meaning of Ubuntu: I become fully human through others, and every real encounter widens the circle of "us."