Canvassing to Curtail Prejudice

Political scientist and PRISE faculty affiliate Joshua Kalla works to reduce support for “exclusionary” policy positions among everyday Americans. Partnering with organizations such as the Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO) and the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, Kalla and colleagues have shown that many social attitudes can be changed during canvassing—that is, during visits to individuals’ homes and having conversations with them about the issue. But, not all types of canvassing are effective. Indeed, Kalla and colleagues’ work suggests that one key ingredient appears to be a non-judgmental exchange of narratives.

In this approach, canvassers introduce a specific socio-political issue that they want to discuss with the resident, such as the extension of certain government benefits to undocumented immigrants. What differs from most canvassing experiences, however, is that the residents are offered an opportunity to express their opinions without judgment, and the canvassers share a story or narrative about the experience of being undocumented in the town/community. This allows the resident to gain some perspective on the issue from the vantage point of the immigrants themselves.

So far, Kalla and his team have experimentally demonstrated that this “perspective getting” approach to canvassing is effective in durably reducing exclusionary attitudes toward undocumented immigrants, as well as toward other groups, such as transgender individuals. These findings suggest a way for people to find common ground regarding a host of issues and, perhaps, reduce partisan animosity.

1. KALLA, J. L., & BROOCKMAN, D. E. (2020). Reducing Exclusionary Attitudes through Interpersonal Conversation: Evidence from Three Field Experiments. American Political Science Review, 114(2), 410–425. doi:10.1017/S0003055419000923