Citation

Bruneau E, Lane D, Saleem M. Soc. Psychol. Pers. Sci. 2017; 8(7): 746-757.

Affiliation

Department of Communications & Research Center for Group Dynamics, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1948550616683019

PMID

29187958

PMCID

PMC5686789

Abstract

In the current work, we experimentally examined the effect of exposure to a narrative of nonviolent resistance on third-party attitudes toward and support for a disempowered group involved in asymmetric conflict. Across three experiments, we found that Americans exposed to a brief video about Palestinian nonviolent resistance consistently registered more favorable attitudes toward Palestinians than people who watched a film trailer either unrelated to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or a trailer to a Palestinian-made film about sympathetic Palestinians violently opposing Israelis. Americans' attitudes toward Palestinians and behavior supporting Palestinian collective action persisted weeks after exposure to nonviolent resistance and were mediated by decreased perceptions that Palestinians are inherently violent. Importantly, positive attitudes toward Palestinians did not result in increased negativity toward Israelis. These data show that exposure to nonviolent resistance can have lasting effects on third-party attitudes and behavior toward an underdog/disempowered group, without driving partisanship.

Language: en

Keywords

counternarrative; narrative; nonviolence; prejudice; underdog effect