Listen, We Need to Talk: How to Change Attitudes about LGBT Rights
Listen, We Need to Talk tests a new theory, what Brian Harrison and Melissa Michelson call The Theory of Dissonant Identity Priming, about how to change people's attitudes on controversial topics. Harrison and Michelson conducted randomized experiments all over the United States, many in partnership with equality organizations, including Equality Illinois, Georgia Equality, Lambda Legal, Equality Maryland, and Louisiana's Capital City Alliance. They found that people are often willing to change their attitudes about LGBT rights when they find out that others with whom they share an identity (for example, as sports fans or members of a religious group) are also supporters of those rights-particularly when told about support from a leader of the group, and particularly if they find the information somewhat surprising.
Fans of the Green Bay Packers football team were influenced by hearing that a Packers Hall-of-Famer is a supporter of LGBT rights. African Americans were influenced by hearing that the Black president of the United States is a supporter. Religious individuals were influenced by hearing that a religious leader is a supporter. And strong partisans were influenced by hearing that a leader of their party is a supporter. Through a series of engaging experiments and compelling evidence, Listen, We Need to Talk provides a blueprint for thinking about how to bring disparate groups together over contentious political issues.
Reviews (88)
A real contribution
I've been following the research project that gave rise to Listen. We Need to Talk since I heard Prof. Michelson present early findings at a conference that Gary S also attended in 2013. I completely agree with his review that is also on this page. The book is a real contribution and it should be read. In full disclosure, I wrote a blurb praising the book that appears on the back cover. I would not have put my name and reputation in jeopardy for a book that I could not recommend honestly. Over the past four years, I read several papers that developed the conceptual framework and presented much of the data that are in this book. I also read more than one draft of the book manuscript. I can assure you that I would never have done this if I didn't think that this was an important book that makes substantial contributions to several fields. Over the years, the project took shape, became more polished and more cogent. Also, over the years that Harrison and MIchelson were writing the book, there was a seismic shift in public attitudes toward LGBT people and about their rights. This has made the book even more relevant and important. Listen, We Need to Talk makes a real contribution to understanding how political beliefs can changed through face-to-face conversations. It should be of interest to people who care about equality and social justice as well as to a wide range of social scientists: public opinion, attitude change, communication, and social movements in particular.
Must read for political scientist
This is a very informative book that helps to explain how the change came for the LGBTQ community. Anyone who is interested in political science should read this to learn how the questions were asked to avoid bias and get the best information possible.
Thorough and thought-provoking
What a fascinating and timely study! The research was thorough and thought-provoking, but also easy to follow.
A unique look at a pressing problem! A unique ...
A unique look at a pressing problem! A unique and thought-provoking analysis that will hopefully engage scholars from a range of disciplines.
Innovative and important work, rigorous experimental testing
This book examines the important issue of marriage equality for same-sex couples, and specifically the role that group identity may have played (and may continue to play) in the persuasion of opponents to soften their opposition and move toward support. This book is also offering a theoretical innovation, the Theory of Dissonant Identity Priming. The central elements of this theory they summarize as follows: *Priming a shared in-group identity between messenger and audience, even one unrelate to the topic at hand, can make the subject more open to persuasion. *The strength of the effect is correlated with the strength of the identity. *The strength of the effect is stronger when the message is unexpected. The book is excellent and timely. The apparent “end” of the marriage equality controversy is illusory and the nation is witnessing a host of backlash legislation across the states. The core arguement of the book can be extended, in my view, to guns, to abortion, to Islamophobia, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and countless other contentious issues in American public life. And...I really like the basic message—that even some of the most difficult to reach subjects might be moved if they can be persuaded to listen, a point the authors make nicely. The presentation is clear, and I am persuaded by the central argument, that salient points of commonality give greater relevance to persuasion messages that may otherwise be discounted or rejected. This is a nice idea and the authors have tested and retested their central hypothesis across a broad array of salient identities, and no finding rests on just one experiment, one coefficient. This is a powerful demonstration that affinity group identification, when primed, can facilitate opinion change by co-member cue, and that the effect of “casting against type” implicit in their theoretical model is real and strong. Overall, an important an excellent piece of scholarship.
Fantastic Book
Listen We Need to Talk is a fantastic book. Not only does the book provide significant contribution to the study of public opinion and identity politics, but it is particularly relevant in the current political context. Through the use of randomized experiments, Harrison and Michelson convincingly show that in-group identity can play an important role in shaping and changing public opinion. More particularly, they show that when individuals see people who share their identity supporting controversial issues like LGBT Rights, they are likely to change their opinion in support of these issues. Harrison and Michelson's Theory of Dissonant Identity Priming lays a ripe and important groundwork for future research. Moreover, I have found the book to be quite approachable for students. The book prompted a great discussion among my students (which is always something exciting for a teacher). I highly recommend reading this book.
Rigorous research and clear explanation
Harrison and Michelson are clear and accessible in describing the cutting edge research about how attitudes are changed about LGBT issues in America today. They employ most rigorous research tools in social science - randomized experiments - to test their theory, so we have clear evidence that their ideas are useful in explaining this complicated issue. My undergraduate students found the argument interesting and compelling to read (they voluntarily read more than assigned!). The description of the research is clear and easy to follow. The design of the research is clever and even fun. Beyond the LGBT issues directly addressed, the book will get you thinking about how people form opinions - and how to change those opinions.
Time Very Well Spent
I was interested to read the new book “Listen, We Need to Talk” by Brian F. Harrison and Melissa R. Michelson and I was glad when I did. The author's new theory of Dissonant Identity Priming was clearly explained and the book was very readable for non-academics like me. I liked the format of the information being presented from a more general level to the more specific; and the experimental data was very well laid out and understandable. The new theory for explaining how opinions may be changed is important not only for the LGBT issue, but also for the many other social issues facing our county. I am interested in learning more about the authors’ Theory of Dissonant Identity Priming.
A real thought-provoking book on how group identity can influence ...
A real thought-provoking book on how group identity can influence those around us. Harrison and Michelson ran experiments to try to understand how people can directly influence others who do not share the same beliefs but do belong to a common group; setting the stage that anyone can influence a change in behavior if you can find a common identity with them. Answering the question of how attitudes on same-sex marriage came about so rapidly, this book implores us all to find the common ground with others to help more disadvantaged groups gain equality. A must read not only for activists and scholars alike.
My students found it engaging and easy to dialogue with
This is an ethical, clearly written, and interesting treatment of how public opinion shifts on controversial issues. My students found it engaging and easy to dialogue with, and it was a joy to teach. If, as the authors suggest, elite cuing matters when we ask people about their views on things like LGBT rights, we need to have deeper conversations about how long those effects last, and how we can use them to have conversations about good public policy.
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