Even when people hold little prejudice themselves, expectations about how members of other groups perceive them may negatively influence interracial relations. In four pre-registered experiments, each using a full intergroup design with Black and White participants, we show that people infer negative meta-attitudes from out-group members whose appearance is phenotypically prototypical, which in turn leads to less favorable orientations toward intergroup contact, independent of personal attitudes. In Experiment 1, Black Americans, but not White Americans, perceived that more phenotypically prototypical out-group members held less favorable meta-attitudes, and this explained less favorable contact orientations. In Experiment 2, this pattern emerged for both groups of participants and was particularly pronounced among individuals higher in stigma consciousness. Experiment 3 replicated Experiment 2 with representative samples and demonstrated that the effect of phenotypic prototypicality was more pronounced among participants reporting greater previous rejection by the out-group. With few exceptions, participants in the experiments also perceived phenotypically prototypical in-group members as having less positive meta-attitudes and participants showed less favorable contact orientations toward these in-group targets. An internal meta-analysis supported the robustness of the findings in the first three experiments. In Experiment 4, direct evidence for the causal effect of the mediator meta-attitudes on orientations toward contact with in- and out-group members was obtained. In all studies, effects held controlling for participants' general intergroup attitudes and experiences, demonstrating the unique role of meta-attitudes in shaping intergroup relations. We discuss our results in light of previous research, highlight social implications, and suggest future directions.

即使人们自己几乎没有偏见，对其他群体成员如何看待他们的期望也可能会对跨种族关系产生负面影响。在四个预先注册的实验中，每个实验都使用与黑人和白人参与者的完整群体间设计，我们表明人们从外表具有表型原型的外群体成员推断出负面的元态度，这反过来又导致对群体间接触的不利取向，独立于个人态度。在实验 1 中，美国黑人，但不是美国白人，认为更多表型原型的外群体成员持有不太有利的元态度，这解释了不太有利的接触方向。在实验 2 中，这种模式出现在两组参与者中，在污名意识较高的个体中尤为明显。实验 3 用具有代表性的样本复制了实验 2，并证明表型原型的影响在​​参与者报告更大的先前拒绝外群体中更为明显。除了少数例外，实验参与者还认为具有表型原型的组内成员具有不太积极的元态度，并且参与者对这些组内目标表现出不太有利的接触方向。一项内部荟萃分析支持前三个实验结果的稳健性。在实验 4 中，获得了中介元态度对与组内和组外成员接触方向的因果影响的直接证据。在所有研究中，影响都控制了参与者的一般群体间态度和经验，证明了元态度在塑造群体间关系中的独特作用。我们根据以前的研究讨论我们的结果，强调社会影响，并提出未来的方向。