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Intervention To Modify Perceptions Of Homelessness, Sophie Srivastava, Vincent Berardi, David Frederick
Intervention To Modify Perceptions Of Homelessness, Sophie Srivastava, Vincent Berardi, David Frederick
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
As public opinion is known to impact policy formation, assessing how the public misperceives the homeless population is important to prevent non-informed policies from being adopted. This study focused on correcting misperceptions about the homeless as a means to garner support for public policies that are known to improve the lives of homeless individuals and those with mental illness. The research study implemented two forms of virtual interventions (refutation texts and personal anecdotes from homeless individuals) plus a control and assessed support for various policies before and after the trial. The goal of the study was to determine which intervention …
Come Closer: Cognitive Dissonance Between Strangers, Melissa Bond, Connie Shears
Come Closer: Cognitive Dissonance Between Strangers, Melissa Bond, Connie Shears
Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters
Whether it’s reacting to unwanted invasion of our personal space (Khan & Kamal, 2010) or creating interpersonal warmth using physical touch (Williams & Bargh, 2008), our interactions with others affect us every day. But how will you feel toward a stranger that you voluntarily let invade your personal space? Cognitive dissonance states that our behaviors will dictate our attitudes instead of the other way around (Festinger, 1957) and is typically studied within an individual. The current study investigates cognitive dissonance between two people. To test the hypothesis that physical touch would change two strangers’ perception of “closeness,” we manipulated three …