Reading Narrative Fiction Reduces Arab-Muslim Prejudice and Offers a Safe Haven From Intergroup Anxiety

Johnson, Dan R.; Jasper, Daniel M.; Griffin, Sallie; Huffman, Brandie L.

doi:10.1521/soco.2013.31.5.578

Cited by 89 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Related to this point, we note that we did not control for the effects of reading other fictional books where positive and negative characters can be easily identified. However, we controlled for general book reading because education in general (e.g., Bilali & Vollhardt, ) and book reading in particular (Johnson, Huffman, & Jasper, ; Johnson, Jasper, Griffin, & Huffman, ; Vezzali et al., ) have been shown to be associated with reduced prejudice. Although this research focused on Harry Potter books as they are representative of fiction literature with large‐scale appeal to the public, similar research can focus on other popular published fictional books.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice

Vezzali

Stathi

Giovannini

et al. 2014

J Applied Social Pyschol

173

117

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Recent research shows that extended contact via story reading is a powerful strategy to improve out-group attitudes. We conducted three studies to test whether extended contact through reading the popular best-selling books of Harry Potter improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups (immigrants, homosexuals, refugees). Results from one experimental intervention with elementary school children and from two cross-sectional studies with high school and university students (in Italy and United Kingdom) supported our main hypothesis. Identification with the main character (i.e., Harry Potter) and disidentification from the negative character (i.e., Voldemort) moderated the effect. Perspective taking emerged as the process allowing attitude improvement. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in the context of extended intergroup contact and social cognitive theory

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice

Vezzali

Stathi

Giovannini

et al. 2014

J Applied Social Pyschol

173

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The role of perspective taking in changing social attitudes may also explain findings that fiction about the experiences of members of other groups can lead to increased empathy and positive attitudes towards those groups (Bilali & Vollhardt, 2013;Hakemulder, 2000Hakemulder, , 2008Johnson, Jasper, Griffin, & Huffman, 2013;Paluck, 2007;Vezzali, Stathi, Giovannini, Capozza, & Trifiletti, 2015). Several researchers have suggested that fiction has a functional role as a form of technology which allows us to experience the world through the eyes of others and thus allows us to identify more closely with them blurring the boundary between self and other (Koopman & Hakemulder, 2015;Mar & Oatley, 2008;Oatley, 2016).…”

Section: Perspective Takingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

Farmer

Maister

2017

Soc Just Res

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The self is one the most important concepts in social cognition and plays a crucial role in determining questions such as which social groups we view ourselves as belonging to and how we relate to others. In the past decade, the self has also become an important topic within cognitive neuroscience with an explosion in the number of studies seeking to understand how different aspects of the self are represented within the brain. In this paper, we first outline the recent research on the neurocognitive basis of the self and highlight a key distinction between two forms of self-representation. The first is the ''bodily'' self, which is thought to be the basis of subjective experience and is grounded in the processing of sensorimotor signals. The second is the ''conceptual'' self, which develops through our interactions of other and is formed of a rich network of associative and semantic information. We then investigate how both the bodily and conceptual self are related to social cognition with an emphasis on how self-representations are involved in the processing and creation of prejudice. We then highlight new research demonstrating that the bodily and conceptual self are both malleable and that this malleability can be harnessed in order to achieve a reduction in social prejudice. In particular, we will outline strong evidence that modulating people's perceptions of the bodily self can lead to changes in attitudes at the conceptual level. We will highlight a series of studies demonstrating that social attitudes towards various social out-groups (e.g. racial groups) can lead to a reduction in prejudice towards that group. Finally, we seek to place these findings in a broader social context by considering how innovations in virtual reality technology can allow experiences of taking on another's identity are likely to become both more commonplace and more convincing in the future and the various opportunities and risks associated with using such technology to reduce prejudice.

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“…For instance, radio dramas effectively communicate new social norms (Paluck, ), which in turn influence behaviour (Cialdini & Trost, ). In addition, fictional narratives expose listeners to diverse opinions in non‐threatening ways, thereby reducing intergroup anxiety (Johnson, Jasper, Griffin, & Huffman, ) and encouraging perspective taking with characters from different sides of the conflict (Paluck, ). These processes can reduce out‐group prejudice in the context of the actual conflict (Bilali & Vollhardt, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of a Media‐based Intervention to Prevent Intergroup Violence and Promote Positive Intergroup Relations in Burundi

Bilali

Vollhardt

Rarick

2015

Community & Applied Soc Psy

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The present study (N = 1074) examined the impact of a theory‐driven media intervention aimed at violence prevention and intergroup reconciliation in Burundi. We used a novel methodology utilizing audio‐based surveys to assess attitudes related to intergroup conflict and reconciliation among community members. We conducted a propensity score analysis to estimate the causal effects of the intervention by examining differences between listeners and non‐listeners of the radio dramas. The results indicated a positive effect of the intervention on several social psychological outcomes (tolerance, in‐group superiority, social distance, intergroup trust, responsibility attributions, trauma disclosure and competitive victimhood). However, listeners and non‐listeners did not differ in obedience toward leaders or historical perspective taking; and the results for active bystandership, one of the main foci of the intervention, were mixed. Furthermore, the results show that the impact of the intervention sometimes depends on listeners' personal experiences of victimization. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Reading Narrative Fiction Reduces Arab-Muslim Prejudice and Offers a Safe Haven From Intergroup Anxiety

Cited by 89 publications

References 58 publications

The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice

The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice

Putting Ourselves in Another’s Skin: Using the Plasticity of Self-Perception to Enhance Empathy and Decrease Prejudice

Assessing the Impact of a Media‐based Intervention to Prevent Intergroup Violence and Promote Positive Intergroup Relations in Burundi

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