When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality

Can a single conversation change minds on divisive social issues, such as same-sex marriage? A randomized placebo-controlled trial assessed whether gay (n = 22) or straight (n = 19) messengers were effective at encouraging voters (n = 972) to support same-sex marriage and whether attitude change persisted and spread to others in voters’ social networks. The results, measured by an unrelated panel survey, show that both gay and straight canvassers produced large effects initially, but only gay canvassers’ effects persisted in 3-week, 6-week, and 9-month follow-ups. We also find strong evidence of within-household transmission of opinion change, but only in the wake of conversations with gay canvassers. Contact with gay canvassers further caused substantial change in the ratings of gay men and lesbians more generally. These large, persistent, and contagious effects were confirmed by a follow-up experiment. Contact with minorities coupled with discussion of issues pertinent to them is capable of producing a cascade of opinion change. Contact with minorities, coupled with discussion of issues pertinent to them, can produce lasting opinion change. Dialogue opens the door to attitude change Personal contact between in-group and out-group individuals of equivalent status can reduce perceived differences and thus improve intergroup relations. LaCour and Green demonstrate that simply a 20-minute conversation with a gay canvasser produced a large and sustained shift in attitudes toward same-sex marriage for Los Angeles County residents. Surveys showed persistent change up to 9 months after the initial conversation. Indeed, the magnitude of the shift for the person who answered the door was as large as the difference between attitudes in Georgia and Massachusetts. Science, this issue p. 1366

[1]  Retraction. When contact changes minds: an experiment on transmission of support for gay equality. , 2015, Science.

[2]  Seth J. Hill,et al.  How Quickly We Forget: The Duration of Persuasion Effects From Mass Communication , 2013 .

[3]  Cameron Marlow,et al.  A 61-million-person experiment in social influence and political mobilization , 2012, Nature.

[4]  M. Hewstone,et al.  Fifty-odd years of inter-group contact: from hypothesis to integrated theory. , 2011, The British journal of social psychology.

[5]  James G. Gimpel,et al.  How Large and Long-lasting Are the Persuasive Effects of Televised Campaign Ads? Results from a Randomized Field Experiment , 2011, American Political Science Review.

[6]  D. Green,et al.  Baseline, Placebo, and Treatment: Efficient Estimation for Three-Group Experiments , 2010, Political Analysis.

[7]  Mark S Handcock,et al.  7. Respondent-Driven Sampling: An Assessment of Current Methodology , 2009, Sociological methodology.

[8]  D. Green,et al.  Prejudice reduction: what works? A review and assessment of research and practice. , 2009, Annual review of psychology.

[9]  David W. Nickerson.  Is Voting Contagious? Evidence from Two Field Experiments , 2008, American Political Science Review.

[10]  Brian J. Gaines,et al.  The Logic of the Survey Experiment Reexamined , 2007, Political Analysis.

[11]  P. Rosenbaum.  Interference Between Units in Randomized Experiments , 2007 .

[12]  Linda R. Tropp,et al.  A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. , 2006, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[13]  C. G. Lord,et al.  Effects of Individuating Information on the Generalization Part of Allport's Contact Hypothesis , 1997 .

[14]  Stephen C. Wright,et al.  The extended contact effect: Knowledge of cross-group friendships and prejudice. , 1997 .

[15]  D. Rubin,et al.  Bayesian inference for causal effects in randomized experiments with noncompliance , 1997 .

[16]  Joshua D. Angrist,et al.  Identification of Causal Effects Using Instrumental Variables , 1993 .

[17]  D. Rubin.  [On the Application of Probability Theory to Agricultural Experiments. Essay on Principles. Section 9.] Comment: Neyman (1923) and Causal Inference in Experiments and Observational Studies , 1990 .

[18]  C. I. Hovland,et al.  The Influence of Source Credibility on Communication Effectiveness , 1951 .