A Video Intervention Reduces Racial Bias in a Representative Sample of US Adults: A Brain as Predictor Study

Summary:  View help for Summary Biased attitudes and behaviors towards racial minorities in the US are pervasive, enduring, and detrimental.  We tested whether a video illustrating the importance of inclusivity would influence short-term and medium-term attitudes and behaviors towards African-Americans. In Experiment 1, a high-impact video was identified by measuring neurologic Immersion in the laboratory (N=62).  Experiment 2 then recruited a representative sample of US adults (N=1097) to assess the video's impact on attitudes and behaviors towards African-Americans.  A two-week follow up was run to determine if effects of the video persisted.  We found that the video improved attitudes towards Black Americans by 11% and generosity in sharing money with a Black male by 104% compared to controls. Both treatment effects persisted after the washout period indicating that high neurologic Immersion videos may be an effective way to reduce out-group biases at scale.