This research demonstrates that simply talking with others can reduce prejudice against unauthorized immigrants and transgender people.
New Approach: Rather than debating policy arguments, exchanging personal narratives without judgment leads to lasting attitudinal shifts.
Across Three Experiments: 230 canvassers conversed with nearly 7000 voters in US locations over four months. In Experiment 1, narrative exchanges cut exclusionary attitudes (d = 0.08). Experiments 2 and 3 on transphobia replicated these findings (ds ≈ 0.04-0.08).
Why It Matters: These results suggest that ordinary conversations can effectively challenge exclusionary thinking—a strategy potentially more accessible than traditional persuasion attempts.
Key Implications:
• Sustained Impact: Benefits last for months post-interaction
• Broad Applicability: Shows promise for diverse social justice issues
• Simple Intervention: Offers an easy-to-implement approach to reducing prejudice
| Reducing Exclusionary Attitudes Through Interpersonal Conversation: Evidence from Three Field Experiments was authored by Joshua Kalla and David Broockman. It was published by Cambridge in APSR in 2020. |
