Linking Socioeconomic Segregation to Racial Bias Using Geospatial Mobility Data

Most intergroup contact is brief and superficial – two random people are more likely to share a public space than they are to have a deep and meaningful conversation. Yet, most previous intergroup contact research has either focused on contact in artificial settings or on self-reported contact. This study presents the first large-scale investigation of how everyday contact relates to racial bias across the U.S., using GPS data from 9.6 million people and attitude data from 1.3 million people. We find that for White individuals, greater SES exposure segregation - indicating less frequent contact with outgroup members - is associated with higher implicit racial bias. These findings suggest that even superficial, everyday contact is associated with reductions in implicit racial bias, highlighting the importance of everyday exposure in shaping intergroup attitudes.