The Power of Empathy: Experimental Evidence of the Impact of Perspective-Focused Interventions on Support for Prison Reform.

As a result of COVID-19, individuals have experienced situations that may help them relate to others, including more limited ability to interact with their environment. Thus, this survey experiment ( N = 2,229) tests whether perspective-focused interventions can help increase support for prison reform. Findings suggest that perspective-getting (providing the perspective of an incarcerated individual via a narrative description of dealing with confinement) increased self-reported support for prison reform initiatives, compared with information only. In addition, a perspective-taking prompt-nudging participants to put themselves in the shoes of the incarcerated individual when reading their narrative-may help boost intention to take action in support of prison reform. Future avenues for research and implications are discussed.