A benefit of interracial marriages is that it increases the opportunity for positive interracial encounters. Research has found a reduction in prejudice and discrimination towards members of an out-group (someone who has a different racial identity to you) when you have positive interracial encounters. For instance, a meta-analysis by Pettigrew and Tropp (as cited in Latson[4] ) found intergroup friendship was associated with decreased intergroup prejudice. This can be explained by the “Contact Hypothesis” which is the idea that intergroup contact under appropriate conditions can effectively reduce in-group out-group prejudice. This contact does not have to be direct, but it could also be vicarious. For instance, Wright et al. [5] found Caucasians who report knowing another Caucasian with a cross-race friend had less negative attitudes about non-Caucasians regardless of direct level of contact.
They created a competition between two groups who thought the groups had been formed based on similarity. After an intergroup hostility had been established, participants observed a member of an in-group member (confederate) complete a task with an out-group person (also a confederate). The participant observed the confederate acting differently depending on the condition she observed. In the positive condition, the confederates hugged and greeted each other as pre-existing friends (positive condition). In the neutral condition, the confederates were polite to each other but not necessarily friendly. In the hostile condition, the confederates acted as if they were pre-existing enemies. Participants who were in the positive condition rated the out-group more positively on both negative characteristics such as “inflexible” and positive characteristics such as “intelligent.” They concluded that merely observing a positive in-group member act positively towards an out-group member increases positive feelings towards the out-group [6] This is a benefit of interracial marriages because they tend to involve the families and friends of the interracial partners coming together and forming relationships with one another. Consequently, this diversity within a family system can enhance open communication for individuals so that they have a deeper understanding of the views of different people.