Abstract
Islamophobia is a global problem that has reached epidemic proportions according to recent government reports and international research. In this preregistered, randomized control study, conducted in a field setting in Australia (N = 227), we investigated whether Islamophobia—negative and hostile attitudes toward Islam and Muslim people—was reduced by a short door-to-door canvassing intervention. Our study involved participants who had expressed negative or ambivalent attitudes toward Muslim residents in a previous survey. These participants were randomly assigned to receive either no treatment or a 15-minute door-knocking conversation that encouraged empathy building through (1) active processing of new information and (2) perspective taking through personal reflections on past experiences of exclusion. Follow-up surveys suggest that, compared with a baseline survey completed before the intervention, prejudice was significantly reduced in the treatment group 6 and 12 weeks later.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 461-478 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Social psychology quarterly |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2024 |
Keywords
- Islamophobia
- discrimination
- immigration
- prejudice
- randomized control trial
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology