Don't judge a living book by its cover: effectiveness of the living library intervention in reducing prejudice toward Roma and LGBT people |
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| Authors: | Gábor Orosz Erzsébet Bánki Beáta Bőthe István Tóth‐Király Linda R. Tropp |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Faculty of Education and PsychologyInstitute of Psychology, E?tv?s Loránd University;2. MTA Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology;3. Faculty of Arts, Institute of Psychology, University of Szeged;4. European Youth Centre Budapest of Council of Europe;5. Department of Psychological and Brain SciencesUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst |
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| Abstract: | In Hungary, prejudices toward Roma and the LGBT community are highly salient and explicit in public opinion, the media, and in the political discourse. The present study examined the effectiveness of the Living Library prejudice reduction intervention—in which participants as “Readers” have engaging contact with living “Books” who are trained volunteers from the Roma and LGBT communities. In a pre‐post intervention study with high school students (N = 105), results suggest that the Living Library intervention reduced participants’ scores on multiple measures of prejudice. The Living Library intervention appeared to be effective among both those participants whose friends endorsed prejudice or more tolerant attitudes toward Roma and LGBT people. In sum, Living Library appears to be a useful method for reducing prejudice in contexts which are characterized by strong negative attitudes toward these different groups. |
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