Prior studies find that subtle messaging—by prompting perspective taking—can reduce prejudice. For example, reminding citizens about their family’s displacement has been shown to induce empathy toward refugees.

🧭 What Was Tested

A test of whether drawing explicit parallels between past family displacement and present-day refugees increases sympathy for refugees among descendants of displaced groups.

🧪 How the research was conducted

• Five new studies implemented in Cyprus, Turkey, and Greece.
• Treatments consisted of messages that compared participants’ family or ingroup displacement experiences to the plight of current refugees.
• Outcomes measured included affective responses toward refugees and support for refugee-related policies.

🔍 Key Findings

• No evidence that descendants of displaced Turks, Greeks, or Greek Cypriots became more sympathetic toward refugees when prompted to compare present refugees to their family’s displacement.
• In some cases, drawing ingroup–outgroup parallels produced increased hostility rather than empathy.
• These messaging interventions did not move policy attitudes.
• Effects were context-specific, calling into question the generalizability and scalability of this light-touch approach to reducing anti-refugee bias.

⚠️ Why it matters

Light-touch reminders of shared displacement do not reliably generate solidarity and can backfire depending on context. Practical limitations of these subtle interventions suggest a need for further research on scalable, robust strategies for prejudice reduction and policy change.