Revised Abstract: The goal of the current research is to design and conduct my dissertation research, incorporating factors from different research areas that have been identified with the reduction of prejudice. Specifically, the aim is to understand how specific messages influence an individual's perceptions of past intergroup contact and willingness to engage in future intergroup contact. An additional aim of this research is to examine how these messages influence the experience of specific emotions during an intergroup interaction. This goal is influenced by the recent upsurge in interest in emotions and their relations to prejudice and intergroup contact. If endorsement of certain ideas leads to a reduction of negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions directed at an outgroup, the behaviors toward an outgroup should be more positive, resulting in a reduction of negative prejudice. The current work focuses on the relationship between prejudice and multicultural/ colorblind messages. Multicultural messages emphasize diversity and how each person's unique contribution to the whole should be valued. Colorblind messages emphasize equality, without regard to ethnic or racial background. Three studies will be proposed to examine the relationship between these ideologies and prejudice.
