The Voices Project Reducing White Students’ Racism in Introduction to Psychology

This study examined the impact of an assignment involving intergroup contact (The Voices Project [TVP]) on student racism toward Muslims, African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics in Introduction to Psychology. TVP students interviewed members from racial groups and wrote autobiographical memoirs of their lives. A faculty-writing team integrated the stories into a staged reading program and presented to the class and campus. Students completed attitude surveys during the first and last weeks of a 15-week semester as well as 1 year later. TVP class showed significant reductions in prejudice toward racial groups across the semester and improvements remained 1 year later. Compared to a control class, TVP class demonstrated significantly greater attitude changes toward Muslims, Hispanics, and acknowledgment of White privilege.