Can high quality listening predict lower speakers' prejudiced attitudes?

Itchakov, G., Weinstein, N. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-6617, Legate, N. and Amar, M. (2020) Can high quality listening predict lower speakers' prejudiced attitudes? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 91. 104022. ISSN 0022-1031 doi: 10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104022

Abstract/Summary

Theorizing from humanistic and motivational literatures suggests attitude change may occur because high quality listening facilitates the insight needed to explore and integrate potentially threatening information re- levant to the self. By extension, self-insight may enable attitude change as a result of conversations about pre- judice. We tested whether high quality listening would predict attitudes related to speakers' prejudices and whether self-insight would mediate this effect. Study 1 (preregistered) examined scripted conversations char- acterized by high, regular, and poor listening quality. In Study 2, we manipulated high versus regular listening quality in the laboratory as speakers talked about their prejudiced attitudes. Finally, Study 3 (preregistered) used a more robust measure of prejudiced attitudes to test whether perceived social acceptance could be an alter- native explanation to Study 2 findings. Across these studies, the exploratory (pilot study and Study 2) and confirmatory (Studies 1 & 3) findings were in line with expectations that high, versus regular and poor, quality listening facilitated lower prejudiced attitudes because it increased self-insight. A meta-analysis of the studies (N = 952) showed that the average effect sizes for high quality listening (vs. comparison conditions) on self- insight, openness to change and prejudiced attitudes were, ds = 1.19, 0.46, 0.32 95%CIs [0.73, 1.51], [0.29, 0.63] [0.12, 0.53], respectively. These results suggest that when having conversations about prejudice, high- quality listening modestly shapes prejudice following conversations about it, and underscore the importance of self-insight and openness to change in this process.