1) Recap: Non-violence

2) Media Interventions and Ethnic Trust

3) Evidence on Media Interventions

Like study of media and violence…

Interested in persuasion or coordination

persuasion: people convinced of different ideas about other ethnic group, new beliefs/attitudes

coordination: changing understanding about norms and behaviors that are appropriate (about social costs and consequences of behavior)

What kinds of media interventions most effective?

Why are these media interventions potentially effective?

Entertainment/narratives likely to be effective

Beliefs/Attitudes:

• beliefs about facts regarding other ethnic group/ethnic issues
• attitudes/prejudice toward ethnic groups

narratives better at persuasion b/c

• less selection into messages;
• better for remembering

Beliefs/Attitudes:

• beliefs about facts regarding other ethnic group/ethnic issues (changing resonance)
• attitudes/prejudice toward ethnic groups (persuasion)

narratives better at persuasion b/c

• less selection into messages;
• better for remembering

motivation/emotion:

• more attention and involvement when there is a narrative
• can lead to more persuasion due to personal investment in story

vicarious relationships with out-group (persuasion)

• Contact Hypothesis (Allport)
• Empathy with beloved characters on-screen

social norm diffusion (coordination)

• shows alter perceived socially desirable norms (e.g. how widely they are used)
• shows provide basis for real-life conversations (diffuse norms further)

Experiment in Rwanda

• Exposed communities to soap-opera addressing ethnic cooperation post-genocide
• Examines:
  • shifts in beliefs
  • shifts in norm perception
  • shifts in empathy
  • shifts in behaviors

• Soap-opera following fictional but similar genocide
• Locals cross ethnic lines to defy leaders encouraging violence

Soap Opera (New Dawn) messages

beliefs: violence based on psychological responses, lack of independent thought and dissent, insufficient group interactions

norms: positive portrayal of inter-ethnic cooperation, expression of dissent

Experiment:

• 14 communities; 7 pairs with strong similarities, randomly assigned within pairs
• "Treatment" gets reconciliation soap-opera; "Control" gets health-themed soap opera
• Listened to show over course of a month in groups

Beliefs:

• causes of violence (no change)
• bystanders responsible for violence (no change)
• intermarriage brings peace (no change)
• views on trauma (no change)
• views on reconciliation (no change)

Norms:

Treatment shifted norms:

• in favor of inter-ethnic marriage
• trusting ethnic out-group not naive
• more willing to discuss lack of trust
• more support for expressing dissent

Empathy:

• During shows, verbal expressions of empathy for characters
• surveys showed more empathy for various groups in Rwandan society

Behavior:

Secret observation of how groups handled reward:

• "Control" groups had no dissent/discussion
• "Treatment" groups: listening group keeps stereo, solve problems themselves, belief in inter-ethnic cooperation

Similar experiment in Democratic Republic of the Congo:

• Treatment group gets soap opera + talk-show; control group gets soap opera

Does discussion after a show increase its efficacy?

"Treatment"/Discussion group showed:

• more contentious discussions
• more negative attitudes toward outgroup
• less willingness to help ethnic out-group

Effective media intervnetions have

1. Engage attention (narratives more effective)
2. Subtle / not too obvious (narratives work well)
3. Tell audience what others think (narratives reveal social norms/preferences)
4. Create behavioral channels (narratives show what to do)