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The Power of Storytelling to Increase Connection with Stigmatized Groups

New work from SPARQ team demonstrates the power of narrative films to reduce prejudice and increase support for criminal justice reform.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for reducing prejudice. New work by Marianne Reddan, Sydney Garcia, Research Scientist Affiliate Golijeh Golarai, Co-Director Jennifer Eberhardt, and Faculty Affiliate Jamil Zaki finds that watching a narrative film about the experiences of incarcerated people, Just Mercy, increased viewers’ empathetic understanding and support for criminal justice reform.

“One of the hardest things for groups of people who face stigma, including previously incarcerated people, is that other Americans don’t perceive their experiences very accurately,” says Zaki. This research shows that even in the U.S., a country that imprisons a greater share of its population than any other industrialized nation in the world, effective narratives can spur changes in people’s empathy and policy support. 

“This paper is a first step in that direction”, says Eberhardt. “Narratives move people in ways that numbers don’t.”

Learn More

Film Intervention Increases Empathic Understanding of Formerly Incarcerated People and Support for Criminal Justice Reform | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The Transformative Power of Film | Stanford Report

Can Watching Movies Rewire Your Brain? | The Hollywood Reporter

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