DREAMzone: Testing two vicarious contact interventions to improve attitudes toward undocumented immigrants

German A. Cadenas, Jesus Cisneros, Nathan R. Todd, Lisa B. Spanierman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We used Allport's (1954) intergroup contact theory as a framework to test the effectiveness of 2 vicarious contact interventions on improving attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. The first intervention was DREAMzone, a 4-hr ally certification workshop. The second intervention was a 30-min documentary film chronicling the stories of 5 undocumented immigrants. Participants (N = 239) experienced 1 of these 2 conditions or were part of a control group. Pre- and posttest assessments were conducted on various attitudes toward undocumented immigrants (i.e., empathy, anxiety, and prejudice). Our results indicated that both intervention modalities significantly improved attitudes toward undocumented immigrants. Attitudes of those in the control group did not change across assessments. Implications for higher education research and practice are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)295-308
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Diversity in Higher Education
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2018

Keywords

  • Attitudes toward undocumented immigrants
  • Prejudice reduction
  • Vicarious intergroup contact

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education

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