When Contact Changes Minds: Two Longitudinal Field Experiments on Transmission of Support for Gay Equality
(With Donald P. Green), Science.
Abstract: Can a single conversation change minds on divisive social issues, such as same-sex marriage? We report results from a randomized placebo-controlled trial assessing whether gay or straight messengers were effective at encouraging voters to support same-sex marriage and whether attitude change persisted and spread to others in voters’ social networks. The results, measured by an ostensibly unrelated panel survey, show that both gay and straight canvassers produced large effects initially, but only gay canvassers’ effects persisted in three-week, six-week, and nine-month follow-ups. We also find strong evidence of within-household transmission of opinion change, but only in the wake of conversations with gay canvassers. A follow-up experiment demonstrates that openly gay canvassers only affect support for same-sex marriage and ratings of gay people when the topic of conversation is gay equality. These findings suggest the theoretical importance of contact with minorities coupled with discussion of policy issues pertinent to them.

