Reaching resistant trainees: creating effective diversity training through integrating perspective taking and media

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)Diversity training continues to be an important research domain because of its practical application in modern organizations. However, research regarding best methods remains inconclusive, and little work has investigated non-demographic trainee characteristics as boundary conditions of diversity training effectiveness. The goal of this study is to test the efficacy of integrating two diversity training methods, perspective taking and media contact, specifically for resistant trainees who are high in social dominance orientation (SDO). In a sample of 373 participants, I test a proposed three-way interaction between these variables such that the effect of perspective taking on racial bias and intergroup anxiety will be enhanced by a media contact video condition, and this integration of training methods will be particularly beneficial for high SDO individuals. This hypothesis was largely unsupported, as integrating perspective taking and media interventions did not lead to lower racial bias or intergroup anxiety. Counter to expectations, the media contact video revealed a harmful effect on racial bias for those low in SDO. However, when combined with a perspective taking writing task, this harmful effect was mitigated. Supplemental analyses reveal that in the media contact video condition, the effect of SDO on racial bias was explained by a mediating mechanism, parasocial connection. Trainees high in SDO formed more negative parasocial connections with the speaker in the media contact video condition. However, those low in SDO formed strong positive parasocial connections with the speaker, and in turn, this positive parasocial connection led to lower racial bias. Implications, future research, and limitations are discussed