The personalization model revisited: An experimental investigation of the role of five personalization-based strategies on prejudice reduction

In this paper, we report findings from a series of experimental studies investigating the role of five personalization-based strategies (individuation, self-disclosure, decategorization, self-other comparison, and empathy) on prejudice reduction. As anticipated, participants who were in the self-disclosure or individuation conditions developed more favorable attitudes towards other out-group members (Study 1). In Study 2, decategorization or self-other comparison allowed group members to discover similarities between the self and members of the out-group, thereby reducing negative out-group memory. Interestingly, when we explored the processes underlying the generalization of prejudice reduction to the out-group (Study 3), we found that the affective component of personalization (i.e., empathy) emerged as a more robust predictor of prejudice reduction than self-other comparison and decategorization. In conclusion, these studies provide the first empirical evidence of the effects of the five components of personalization in reducing prejudice across different contexts and different experimental paradigms.