Promoting Anti-Rape Attitudes in Young Men Through the Repetition-Induced Truth Effect

The repetition-induced truth effect (RITE) refers to the robust observation that repeated statements are more likely to be believed than new ones. We propose that this mechanism can be used to promote anti-rape attitudes. We conducted three experimental studies (n1 = 103, n2 = 206, n3 = 339) to test whether repetition increases agreement with statements from an anti-rape attitude scale. Participants, all heterosexual men aged 18-25, were presented with a set of anti-rape statements and filler statements. Then, they indicated their agreement with the entire 19-item anti-rape attitudes scale, half of which they had seen before and half of which were new. Agreement with repeated statements was higher in all three experiments, though the mean difference was not statistically significant in Experiment 2. An internal meta-analysis of the three experiments indicated a small but meaningful overall effect of repetition on agreement with anti-rape statements (g = .19, p < .001). Our study demonstrates that a single, unobtrusive exposure to prosocial messages can affect attitudes concerning rape. These findings have implications for designing more effective public health campaigns and educational programs aimed at preventing rape and sexual violence.