Information Regarding Shared Genes Between Humans Improves Attitudes Towards World Members

Abstract

Laypeople reason that different races share 68% of their genes. In fact, the Human Genome Project indicates that humans, regardless of race, share 99.9% of our genetic material and that only 1/200th of 1% has been used to group people into the five classically conceived races. We reasoned that information about shared genetics might compel participants to extend their ingroup to include those formerly in the outgroup. In three studies, we showed participants an 11-min video with this information and compared this to a music video. In Study 1, we examined 123 European New Zealanders and found that attitudes towards individuals in other countries (measured by questions such as How much do you believe in being loyal to all mankind?) improved significantly from pre- to post-test compared to a music video detailing the effect of music on a child's brain. In Study 2, we replicated this effect with a group of 93 European participants in the United Kingdom. In Study 3, we replicated this effect again with a group of 150 participants from the United Kingdom and showed that the effect is independent of age, political orientation, need for cognitive control and submissiveness.