Tolerance by Surprise: Evidence for a Generalized Reduction in Prejudice and Increased Egalitarianism through Novel Category Combination

Vasiljevic, M.; Crisp, R.J.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057106

Tolerance by Surprise: Evidence for a Generalized Reduction in Prejudice and Increased Egalitarianism through Novel Category Combination

Vasiljevic, M.; Crisp, R.J.

Authors

Dr Milica Vasiljevic milica.vasiljevic@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

Professor Richard Crisp richard.j.crisp@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Prejudices towards different groups are interrelated, but research has yet to find a way to promote tolerance towards multiple outgroups. We devise, develop and implement a new cognitive intervention for achieving generalized tolerance based on scientific studies of social categorization. In five laboratory experiments and one field study the intervention led to a reduction of prejudice towards multiple outgroups (elderly, disabled, asylum seekers, HIV patients, gay men), and fostered generalized tolerance and egalitarian beliefs. Importantly, these effects persisted outside the laboratory in a context marked by a history of violent ethnic conflict, increasing trust and reconciliatory tendencies towards multiple ethnic groups in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We discuss the implications of these findings for intervention strategies focused on reducing conflict and promoting peaceful intergroup relations.

Citation

Vasiljevic, M., & Crisp, R. (2013). Tolerance by Surprise: Evidence for a Generalized Reduction in Prejudice and Increased Egalitarianism through Novel Category Combination. PLoS ONE, 8(3), Article e57106. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057106

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Jan 21, 2013
Online Publication Date	Mar 6, 2013
Publication Date	Mar 6, 2013
Deposit Date	Aug 23, 2017
Publicly Available Date	Sep 5, 2017
Journal	PLoS ONE
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	8
Issue	3
Article Number	e57106
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057106
Related Public URLs	https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/253153

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2013 Vasiljevic, Crisp. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.