The Narrative Policy Framework and Sticky Beliefs: An Experiment Studying Islamophobia

Abstract

Our study focuses on Islamophobia and the power of facts versus the power of a narrative in shaping individual opinion toward Muslims. We utilise an experimental design to explore three research questions: (1) Is Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment lowered in narrative or factual treatments?; (2) What are the differential effects of the treatments by ideological orientation?; and (3) Is Islamophobia a predictor of policy stances? We find that neither the narrative or factual treatments lowered Islamophobia or anti-Muslim sentiment. However, moderates were significantly influenced by the Facts Treatment, expressing lower levels of anti-Muslim sentiment. Finally, the treatments significantly influenced policy positions for individuals in the Facts Treatment group, who were less likely to support funding increases for border security than subjects in the narrative treatment. Our findings have implications for understanding persuasion, identity protection cognition, and the persistence of Islamophobia within the context of the power of narrative.