The impact of narrative writing on empathy, perspective-taking, and attitude: Two randomized controlled experiments on violations of Covid-19 protection regulations.
PLoS One
; 16(7): e0254501, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1305579
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Two randomized controlled experiments investigated if writing a narrative text about a fictional person who shows disapproved of behavior in the Covid-19 pandemic influenced empathy, perspective-taking, attitude, and attribution of causes regarding that person's behavior.METHODS:
In both studies, a fictional scenario was described, and participants answered questions regarding empathy, perspective-taking, attitude, and attribution regarding a fictional person's disapproved of behavior (pre-post-measurement). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the experimental condition, they wrote a narrative text about the fictional person. In the control condition, they wrote about an unrelated topic.RESULTS:
We found that writing a narrative text increased empathy more strongly than writing about an unrelated topic; Study 1 p = 0.004, part.η2 = 0.06, Study 2 p < .001, part.η2 = 0.19. This did not apply to perspective-taking; Study 1 p = 0.415; Study 2 p = 0.074. We also found that writing a narrative text about a fictional person resulted in a more positive attitude toward this person; Study 1 p = 0.005, part.η2 = 0.06; Study 2 p<0.001, part.η2 = 0.10. Finally, in Study 2 we found that participants who wrote a narrative text attributed the person's behavior to internal causes to a lesser degree; p = 0.007, part.η2 = 0.05.CONCLUSION:
Our findings indicate that empathy and attitude are positively modifiable through narrative writing tasks. Empathy training could potentially prevent discrimination related to Covid-19. TRIAL REGISTRATION The studies presented in this article were pre-registered on the pre-registration platform AsPredicted (aspredicted.org) before we began data collection; registration numbers and URL #44754 https//aspredicted.org/vx37t.pdf (Study 1), and #44753 https//aspredicted.org/ig7kq.pdf (Study 2).
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Writing
/
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
/
Narration
/
Empathy
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
PLoS One
Journal subject:
Science
/
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Journal.pone.0254501
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS