What reduces prejudice in the real world? A meta‐analysis of prejudice reduction field experiments

Hsieh, Wing; Faulkner, Nicholas; Wickes, Rebecca

doi:10.1111/bjso.12509

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…3 22 25 The need for effective interventions to stop homophobic language and other behaviours, and to shift homophobic sport cultures, has been repeatedly identified, 3 5 9 yet systematic reviews have found no published trials of interventions. [26][27][28] This gap in the literature reflects a long-documented lack of engagement and resourcing from politicians and sport leaders for programmes designed to address sexuality-based discrimination in sport. 3 5 29 Research suggests some sport leaders fear a backlash from athletes or parents if they take action, whereas other leaders are hesitant because they are uncertain about how to stop this pervasive behaviour.…”

Section: Original Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting homophobic language use by young male athletes: a cluster randomised controlled trial

et al. 2023

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ObjectiveHomophobic language is common in male sport and associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes for all sport participants, but particularly for gay or bisexual youth populations. Evidence-based interventions are needed to reduce such language and mitigate harm. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a short social-cognitive educational intervention delivered by professional rugby union players in youth sport.MethodsIn a two-arm, cluster randomised controlled trial, 13 Australian youth rugby teams from 9 clubs (N=167, ages 16–20, mean 17.9) were randomised into intervention or control groups. Professional rugby players delivered the intervention in-person. Frequency of homophobic language use was measured 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after the intervention. Hypothesised factors underpinning homophobic language were also measured, including descriptive (other people use), prescriptive and proscriptive injunctive norms (approval/disapproval by others), and attitudes towards the acceptability of homophobic language.ResultsAt baseline, 49.1% of participants self-reported using homophobic language in the past 2 weeks and 72.7% reported teammates using homophobic language. Significant relationships were found between this behaviour and the hypothesised factors targeted by the intervention. However, generalised estimating equations found the intervention did not significantly reduce homophobic language, or alter the associated norms and attitudes, relative to controls.ConclusionUse of professional rugby athletes to deliver education on homophobic language was not effective. Other approaches to reduce homophobic language (and other forms of discrimination) such as peer-to-peer education, and enforcement of policies prohibiting specific language by coaches, should be explored.

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Section: Original Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting homophobic language use by young male athletes: a cluster randomised controlled trial

et al. 2023

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“…… Future research is needed to identify the characteristics that prejudice reduction interventions need to be scalable, and consideration should also be given to whether particular prejudice reduction interventions meet those criteria. (Hsieh et al, 2022, p. 706)Therefore, although the field’s increased focus on studying interventions in real-world contexts is a positive development and has seen marked success, the fact that most of this work relies on traditional incentives raises questions about these interventions’ true applicability to real-world conflicts.…”

Section: Motivational Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivational Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Social scientists have devoted much effort to developing core intervention content producing psychological change, achieving marked success in both lab and field studies (see Hsieh et al, 2022; Paluck et al, 2021, for recent meta-analytic reviews). However, for intergroup interventions to reach their true potential, greater attention needs to be devoted to delivering this core content to a target audience often unmotivated to engage with it.…”

Section: Five Approaches To Surmount Motivational Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intergroup psychological interventions: The motivational challenge.

Landry,

Halperin

2023

American Psychologist

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Social scientists have increasingly applied insights from descriptive research to develop psychological interventions aimed at improving intergroup relations. These interventions have achieved marked success-reducing prejudicial attitudes, fostering support for conciliatory social policies, and promoting peacebuilding behaviors. At the same time, intergroup conflict continues to rage in part because individuals often lack motivation to engage with these promising interventions. We take a step toward addressing this issue by developing a framework of approaches for delivering interventions to an unmotivated target audience. Along with (a) directly motivating targets by increasing their values and expectancies for addressing intergroup conflict, researchers can deliver interventions by (b) satisfying other psychological motivations of the target audience, (c) providing an instrumental benefit for engaging with the intervention, (d) embedding the intervention in a hedonically captivating medium, or (e) bypassing motivational barriers entirely by delivering the intervention outside of targets' conscious awareness. We define each approach and use illustrative examples to organize them into a conceptual framework before concluding with implications and future directions.

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“…Moreover, despite finding positive effects of intergroup interventions in the field, a recent meta-analytic study by Hsieh et al (2022, p. 706) concluded that "…there was no explicit and detailed consideration of how scalable effective interventions may be…Future research is needed to identify the characteristics that prejudice reduction interventions need to be scalable, and consideration should also be given to whether particular prejudice reduction interventions meet those criteria." Therefore, although the field's increased focus on studying interventions in real-world contexts is a positive development and has seen marked successes (Hsieh et al, 2022), the fact that many successful interventions rely on artificial incentives for participants to engage with them raises questions about their true applicability to real-world conflicts.…”

Section: Motivational Barriersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intergroup Psychological Interventions: The Motivational Challenge

Landry¹

2023

Preprint

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Social scientists have increasingly applied insights from descriptive research to develop psychological interventions aimed at improving intergroup relations. These interventions have achieved marked success in lab and field studies—reducing prejudicial attitudes and affective polarization, fostering support for conciliatory social policies, and promoting peace-building behaviors. At the same time, intergroup conflict continues to rage in part because individuals often lack motivation to engage with these promising interventions. So far, much time and effort has been devoted to designing effective intervention content that produces psychological change, but less attention has been paid to this “motivational challenge.” We take a step toward addressing this imbalance by developing a conceptual framework of methods by which social scientists can deliver the core content of their intergroup interventions to an unmotivated target audience. Along with (a) directly motivating targets by getting them on board with the intervention’s ultimate aim, researchers can deliver the core intervention content by (b) tapping into other psychological motivations of the target audience, (c) embedding the core content in other attractive features of the intervention unrelated to the conflict, or (d) bypass motivational barriers entirely by delivering the intervention outside of targets’ conscious awareness. We define each method and use illustrative examples to organize them into a conceptual framework, before concluding with implications and future directions.

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What reduces prejudice in the real world? A meta‐analysis of prejudice reduction field experiments

Abstract: Fractured intergroup relations and prejudicial attitudes based on ethnic, religious, sexuality, and genderidentity differences are a regular feature of social life across many countries (

Cited by 13 publications

References 81 publications

Effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting homophobic language use by young male athletes: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Effectiveness of an educational intervention targeting homophobic language use by young male athletes: a cluster randomised controlled trial

Intergroup psychological interventions: The motivational challenge.

Intergroup Psychological Interventions: The Motivational Challenge

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