Not necessarily. It depends on whether the factor in question can actually be influenced by what the researcher is doing. In the discussion section the authors cited another study, done with children slightly younger than their group, that found *no* significant difference in reduction of prejudice between children who had a story discussed with them and those who only read the story without further comment or input from the researchers. It seems to be the role playing inherent in reading from a foreign perspective that reduces prejudice, not being lectured about it.
Which makes sense. Humans are emotional creatures, and we are not remotely as logical as we like to believe. We do, however, empathize strongly with our fellow man, as long as we recognize them as essentially 'like us.' Stories allow us to highlight that underlying shared humanity in a way that reaches our emotional core. This explains why we see so many conservative politicians do a 180 on gay rights once it's their own family that comes out of the closet, when all the cold, logical arguments about equal rights and fairness under the law failed to sway them.
The researchers also made clear that this was an area that needed more research to clarify cause and effect. So, this study isn't definitive by any means, but it's not utterly meaningless either. If nothing else, transcripts of the discussion will show how the kids interpreted what they read, which is useful information in and of itself (though not published in the journal article in question).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2014-08-04 11:42 pm (UTC)Which makes sense. Humans are emotional creatures, and we are not remotely as logical as we like to believe. We do, however, empathize strongly with our fellow man, as long as we recognize them as essentially 'like us.' Stories allow us to highlight that underlying shared humanity in a way that reaches our emotional core. This explains why we see so many conservative politicians do a 180 on gay rights once it's their own family that comes out of the closet, when all the cold, logical arguments about equal rights and fairness under the law failed to sway them.
The researchers also made clear that this was an area that needed more research to clarify cause and effect. So, this study isn't definitive by any means, but it's not utterly meaningless either. If nothing else, transcripts of the discussion will show how the kids interpreted what they read, which is useful information in and of itself (though not published in the journal article in question).