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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| When Contact Changes Minds | 3/3 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Contact_Changes_Minds | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:31:21.307446+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Popular press == While Green, David Broockman, and Joshua Kalla conducted numerous interviews with reporters outlining their version of events, LaCour refrained from talking to the media with the exception of a single interview with The New York Times. Various opinions were advanced in the popular media regarding the implications of the scandal and the motivations of the parties involved. The editorial page of The Wall Street Journal speculated that LaCour's argument originally gained acceptance in the scientific community because it "flattered the ideological sensibilities of liberals, who tend to believe that resistance to gay marriage can only be the artifact of ignorance or prejudice, not moral or religious conviction. Mr. LaCour's findings let them claim that science had proved them right." The Journal editorial further argued that the paper and its acceptance reflected a broader phenomenon in the social sciences in which liberals, according to the editorial, "recast stubborn political debates about philosophy and values as disputes over facts that can be resolved by science". New York Magazine columnist Jesse Singal dismissed the Wall Street Journal editorial, arguing that it was silly and uninformed, and suggested instead that the main reason for the article's publication was its contradiction of prior research. Gelman, referring to LaCour's study, said that the journal Science is sometimes called a tabloid "because of its pattern of publishing dramatic but fishy claims (at least in social science)". Conservative pro-gay-marriage columnist S.E. Cupp wrote that, "The doctored study will only encourage the perception that advocates are going too far." As to what motivated LaCour's behavior in the first place, his co-author, Donald Green, has expressed bafflement. New York Magazine points to the pressure that social scientists are under to publish scholarly articles, while stating that "profound pressure to publish certainly can’t explain LaCour’s deception on its own". A New York magazine opinion piece by sociology doctoral candidate Drew Foster argued that the study exposed problems with the culture of political science research and supervision given to junior academics, along with a competitive culture caused by overproduction of PhD students relative to available political science academic positions.
== Follow-up study == Following their debunking of When Contact Changes Minds, Broockman and Kalla (2016) conducted an experiment like the one purported to have been conducted by LaCour and Green. Households in Florida were sent a survey on social attitudes and were later visited by canvassers to discuss either recycling or transphobia and transgender rights, with the change in the householders' opinions tracked by follow-up surveys. The study found that extended conversations with canvassers did in fact reduce anti-transgender prejudice and were more effective long-term than attack ads. However, contrary to one of LaCour's claims, the identity of the canvasser did not seem to matter; both transgender and cisgender canvassers had a similar effect.
== See also == List of scientific misconduct incidents Argument from authority Deep canvassing
== References == Notes
Bibliography LaCour, Michael J.; Green, Donald P. (2014). "When contact changes minds: An experiment on transmission of support for gay equality". Science. 346 (6215): 1366–9. Bibcode:2014Sci...346.1366L. doi:10.1126/science.1256151. PMID 25504721. S2CID 6322609. (Retracted, see doi:10.1126/science.aac6638, PMID 26022417, Retraction Watch) Archived 2015-05-31 at the Wayback Machine. In Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.
LaCour, Michael J.; Vavreck, Lynn (2014). "Improving media measurement: Evidence from the field" (PDF). Political Communication. 31 (3): 408–420. doi:10.1080/10584609.2014.921258. S2CID 143974311.
== External links == Article on Science