The effects of perspective‐taking on multiple dimensions of discrimination: Can one size fit all?

Abstract Perspective‐taking reduces discrimination, but research has taken a one‐size‐fits‐all approach, focusing on single attributes triggering discrimination, particularly ethnic origin, and has paid insufficient attention to heterogeneous treatment effects. Our study asks: How effective is perspective‐taking across different traits triggering discrimination, including gender, age, and profession, and how effective is it among individuals with strongly principled attitudes? We develop a conjoint experiment for a sample in Germany to measure discrimination through participants assessing the allocation of administrative help to non‐national EU citizens seeking social benefits. We apply a perspective‐taking treatment, randomly allocating participants to envision relocating abroad and needing to deal with local bureaucracies. Our results confirm that perspective‐taking is less effective for principled individuals, such as respondents with strong anti‐immigrant attitudes. Additionally, while the treatment reduced discrimination based on nationality, it inadvertently increased bias for attributes such as gender and profession. Further analysis suggests that these side effects are tied to the associations participants have when undertaking the task. Researchers should consider the associations respondents report after engaging with treatments as a source of heterogeneous treatment effects.