Prior studies find that subtle messaging—by prompting perspective taking—can reduce prejudice. For example, reminding citizens about their family’s displacement has been shown to induce empathy toward refugees.
🧠What Was Tested
A test of whether drawing explicit parallels between past family displacement and present-day refugees increases sympathy for refugees among descendants of displaced groups.
🧪 How the research was conducted
- Five new studies implemented in Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece.
- Treatments consisted of messages that compared participants’ family or ingroup displacement experiences to the plight of current refugees.
- Outcomes measured included affective responses toward refugees and support for refugee-related policies.
🔍 Key Findings
- No evidence that descendants of displaced Turks, Greeks, or Greek Cypriots became more sympathetic toward refugees when prompted to compare present refugees to their family’s displacement.
- In some cases, drawing ingroup–outgroup parallels produced increased hostility rather than empathy.
- These messaging interventions did not move policy attitudes.
- Effects were context-specific, calling into question the generalizability and scalability of this light-touch approach to reducing anti-refugee bias.
⚠️ Why it matters
Light-touch reminders of shared displacement do not reliably generate solidarity and can backfire depending on context. Practical limitations of these subtle interventions suggest a need for further research on scalable, robust strategies for prejudice reduction and policy change.
