Facing Empathy: Reducing Facial-Differences Bias Through a Story

ObjectiveThis study investigated if an empathy-evoking vignette could reduce facial differences bias, while considering gender.DesignParticipants (N = 124) were randomly assigned to read either an empathy-evoking vignette or nothing, after which they completed indirect and direct bias measures.SettingThe study was conducted entirely online.ParticipantsThose completing the study were members of the general public, none of which had a facial difference.InterventionsParticipants either read a short, empathy-evoking vignette or nothing before then completing the tasks.Main Outcome MeasuresThe indirect measure of bias was an implicit association task. Explicit measures of bias were questions about preferences and attitudes toward people with facial differences.ResultsReading the vignette led to lower bias on indirect and direct measures in females, whereas in the small sample of males, vignette males tended toward greater bias than no-vignette males. Although we tried to expand insights into bias in different genders, we did not have enough non-binary participants.ConclusionThis study showed that empathy-evoking vignettes can attenuate facial differences bias in females but may inadvertently heighten bias in males, underscoring the moderating role of gender in narrative-based interventions. Future work should explore diverse narrative types and perspectives, using a wider range of stimuli (varied facial differences, genders, ethnicities) and participant genders, and should incorporate gender into analyses of bias.