Walking in my Shoes: Designing Technology to Reduce Prejudices
Translated title
Walking in my Shoes: At designe en teknologi til at reducere fordomme
Authors
Ramachandram, Aparna ; Avila, Maria Jose ; Rodrigues Bejarano, Natalia
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2020
Submitted on
2020-06-12
Abstract
Dette studie udforsker, hvordan teknologi kan bruges til at reducere fordomme mod syriske flygtninge i Danmark. Vi designede og evaluerede den rekreative mobilapplikation Walking in my Shoes, hvor brugere lytter til to syriske flygtninges personlige fortællinger, mens de går, understøttet af refleksionsspørgsmål og funktioner, der motiverer bevægelse og fokus. Designet bygger på Kontakttteori samt affektive processer omkring empati og perspektivtagning for at skabe indirekte kontakt og stimulere empati gennem viden om flygtninges liv før og efter flugten samt deres erfaringer i Danmark. Evalueringen fulgte en mixed-methods tilgang med Prejudiced Attitudes Test (TAP) før og efter brug samt parrede t-tests, suppleret af semistrukturerede interviews. Kvantitativt fandtes signifikante reduktioner i de kognitive og affektive fordomsdimensioner, mens den adfærdsmæssige dimension ikke ændrede sig signifikant; 81% af deltagerne havde lavere fordomme efter brug. Interviewene indikerede, at deltagere med positive forudgående erfaringer var åbne for ny viden, mens enkelte med negative erfaringer eller mediepåvirkning reagerede negativt, dog uden signifikant gennemslag i de statistiske resultater. Vi diskuterer designimplikationer og begrænsninger og peger på fortælling og empatifremmende funktioner som centrale greb i teknologier, der søger at reducere fordomme.
This study investigates how technology can reduce prejudice against Syrian refugees in Denmark. We designed and evaluated the recreational mobile application Walking in my Shoes, which lets users listen to two Syrian refugees’ personal narratives while walking, complemented by reflection prompts and features that encourage movement and focus. The design is grounded in Contact Theory and affective processes of empathy and perspective taking to create indirect contact and stimulate empathy through information about refugees’ lives before and after displacement and their experiences in Denmark. The evaluation used a mixed-methods approach: the Prejudiced Attitudes Test (TAP) administered before and after use with paired-samples t-tests, complemented by semi-structured interviews. Quantitatively, we found significant reductions in the cognitive and affective dimensions of prejudice, while the behavioral dimension did not change significantly; 81% of participants showed lower prejudice after using the app. Interviews suggested that participants with prior positive experiences were receptive to new knowledge, whereas a few with negative prior experiences or media exposure reacted negatively, though this did not yield significant effects in the statistical results. We discuss design implications and limitations, highlighting narrative and empathy-inducing features as key elements for technologies aiming to reduce prejudice.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
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