Abstract: Negative attitudes and unequal treatment across social groups remains a compelling human problem, and understanding the nature, the causes and the reduction of prejudice has been a major theme in social psychology. One thing that seems fairly clear is that friendly contact between members of different groups can lead to reductions in prejudice. However, what is less clear is why. Contemporary research and theorizing has focused on three distinct but related issues surrounding cross-group contact. First, what are the psychological processes that underlie attitude change during friendly cross-group contact? Second, what are the barriers to meaningful friendly contact? Third, while it is certainly true that those who are the targets of the most virulent kinds of prejudice will benefit from its reduction, cross-group contact may not be a panacea if the ultimate goal is create great equality between groups.