Testing the efficacy of three informational interventions for reducing misperceptions of the Black–White wealth gap
https://www.pnas.org/content/118/38/e2108875118
An intervention study exposed a US community sample to messages about Black–White racial inequality.
Interventions including data bearing on Black–White wealth inequality elicited higher estimates of that inequality that persisted for at least 18 mo, aligning with federal data measuring the Black–White wealth gap. The data interventions also increased acknowledgment of White Americans’ structural advantage and reduced beliefs in personal achievement as the remedy for racial inequality.
In contrast, a narrative-based intervention, including information on a single Black family contending with racial inequality, did not shift inequality estimates or change respondents’ explanations.
This study suggests how social science data can be used to create more realistic perceptions of racial inequality—a prerequisite to enacting equity-enhancing policy.
Following this introduction, the video diverges into the information discussed and described in the three intervention conditions: The narrative condition provided context for racial inequalities in society by relaying a personal story of struggle for educational opportunities. This condition was designed to personalize the experience of those adversely impacted by racial inequality and to portray an identifiable family facing such circumstances. The narrative condition relayed the true story of a Black high school student attempting to go to college while facing (9) structural conditions that make educational opportunities difficult to reach (29). These structural conditions include eviction and financial insecurity, rising healthcare costs for family members with disabilities, and family unemployment.
The data condition provided context for racial inequalities by relaying data describing the disproportionate structural barriers facing Black American families in America. The data included statistics on inequality in public education funding (65), home values caused by redlining (8), racial (and gender) differences in upward mobility (61), and most importantly, presented the 2016 current Black–White wealth gap. The structural causes (i.e., the role of current and past laws and policies) of each of these inequalities were described.
The combined condition provided the information from both the narrative and data interventions. At the end of each intervention, connections between the narrative and data were made to the American Dream, and each condition ends by asserting that policy changes to society that create more equal opportunities will promote shared prosperity. Both the narrative and data videos were around 3.5 min in length, whereas the combined video was a little over 5 min.**