When the shoe does not fit: The role of perspective‐taking orientation in a perspective‐taking prejudice reduction intervention

Abstract

We tested how individuals' dispositional perspective‐taking impacts the effectiveness of an intergroup perspective‐taking intervention aimed to reduce anti‐Gypsyism in Hungary. For the intervention, we adapted a role‐playing book with a Roma adolescent protagonist (called the ‘Gypsy Maze’). We predicted that the intervention would be more effective in reducing prejudice for stronger perspective‐takers, compared to weaker, for whom it may even be counterproductive, potentially triggering victim blaming. We conducted a pilot field study among high school students and two experiments among university students (N = 982). In Study 1, we found that dispositional perspective‐taking qualified the effect of the intervention. While strong perspective‐takers endorsed less prejudice following the intervention versus control conditions, weak perspective‐takers endorsed more. In Study 2, we aimed to replicate Study 1 and test underlying explanations, however, the intervention was ineffective in reducing prejudice among both weak and strong perspective‐takers. These results draw attention to the limits of perspective‐taking interventions and highlight the importance of both societal‐contextual boundaries and personalizing intergroup interventions. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.