Collaborative Research: Reducing Prejudice Toward Refugees: How Social Networks Reinforce and Unravel Attitude Change

George Washington University, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

Most of the world’s political refugees live in developing countries. Maintaining positive host-refugee relations is important for maintaining security in these countries. This study investigates whether face-to-face conversations aimed at taking the perspective of refugees can reduce an individual’s prejudice towards refugees in a resource-poor context, and whether changes in beliefs about and attitudes towards outgroups spread socially, via social networks after the intervention. The study results will show how social networks reinforce or undermine changes in beliefs and attitudes in the longer-term, thereby advancing knowledge on the most difficult part of this process: countering prejudice towards refugees in ways that are cost-effective and durable. Additionally, the network data collected during the study will be used to build a pedagogical resource to aid social network analysis instruction. The study will culminate in both scholarly publications and a public-facing set of briefs for refugee organizations. The objectives of this study are fourfold: 1. Assemble a new dataset from households with information on individual attributes, attitudes towards refugees, beliefs about community views on refugees, and rich social network information. 2. Assess the effectiveness of a light-touch intervention aimed at reducing prejudice towards refugees. 3. Compare the effectiveness of two possible prejudice-reduction interventions and determine how social processing reinforces or unravels attitude change in the longer-term. 4. Examine which network structures correlate with other social identity markers, such as ethnic demography. Randomly selected households will receive a perspective-taking treatment. In half of the households, the perspective-taking intervention will occur via a one-on-one, individual interaction, and in the others, it will occur via a social process at a community meeting. Data from baseline and subsequent surveys will be analyzed to meet the study objectives. The study will be among the first to examine directly the social processing of an individual-level treatment aimed at prejudice reduction. The findings will significantly advance basic research in areas related to the study of refugee populations, prejudice regulation, and the influence of social networks on individual attitudes. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.