Combining Perspective-getting with Information Delivery to Increase Public Support for Refugees

Many Americans hold negative views of refugees, and misinformation about refugees is a common feature of American politics. Nonetheless, we know relatively little about the accuracy of Americans’ perceptions of the US refugee population, and whether countering misinformation can shape attitudes toward refugees and refugee policy. We address these questions by first implementing a survey measuring Americans’ knowledge about refugees in the United States. We find that Americans are surprisingly well-informed about the refugee population in general. However, our survey respondents overestimated the security threat posed by refugees and underestimated the vetting they receive from the US government. Next, we conducted a survey experiment testing whether information about the refugee vetting process could shift views of refugees, and whether this information would be more effective when embedded in a perspective-getting narrative about the experience of coming to the United States as a refugee. We find that the correct information caused respondents to update their views of the vetting process but did not affect broader attitudes toward refugees. Exposure to the perspective-getting treatment increased positive attitudes toward refugees and pro-refugee policies, while combining information and perspective-getting caused both updating and more positive attitudes. These results contribute to understanding of the relative effectiveness of different prejudice reduction strategies and have practical implications for advocates and policymakers working on refugee issues.

Recently presented at the Yale MacMillan Center Program on Refugees, Forced Displacement, & Humanitarian Responses , and the University of Pennsylvania Overcoming Prejudice Against Immigrant Minorities conference. Slides.