Exposure and Repetition are two important factors that play an essential role in attitude change through diversity education. Attitude refers to a person's beliefs, values, opinions, and feelings towards certain things. Exposure involves repeated contact with diverse people, cultures, experiences, ideas, and situations. Repetition is the process of learning something multiple times to gain mastery over it.
Diversity education is about creating awareness and acceptance of different perspectives, values, lifestyles, and backgrounds. It helps individuals understand how their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors affect others and vice versa. The exposure to diversity educates them about different cultures, norms, customs, traditions, and ways of life. Repeated exposure to these concepts reinforces the learnings and enables them to accept differences as normal. Diversity education also encourages individuals to be open-minded and empathetic towards other people's views and experiences.
Attitude change can happen gradually or abruptly depending upon various factors like age, gender, personality, culture, environment, and experience.
Exposure and repetition have been found to be effective tools for attitude change.
The first step in attitude change is exposing oneself to diversity education. This means actively seeking out information from different sources, such as books, media, movies, social media, etc., that provide insights into different cultures, experiences, and viewpoints. Exposure is crucial because it opens one's mind to new possibilities and perspectives. When people are exposed to diverse ideas, they start questioning their existing beliefs and worldviews. They begin to see things differently, which leads to attitude changes.
Repetition plays a significant role in attitude change by reinforcing the learnt knowledge. Repetition involves repeated practice of the same thing until it becomes automatic.
Repeating affirmations, practicing non-verbal communication skills, revisiting course material, or reflecting on past interactions with diverse individuals. This helps individuals internalize the knowledge and make it part of their lives. The more they repeat the lessons learned through diversity education, the stronger their attitude changes become.
Exposure and repetition alone cannot lead to sustainable attitude change. Individuals must engage with the content, apply it to real-life situations, and integrate it into their daily lives. This means consciously practicing diversity education principles, values, and practices every day. Attitude change is not just about learning but also implementing what has been learned.
Attitude change can be a gradual process requiring time and effort. It requires self-reflection, evaluation, introspection, and action. Diversity educators can use various tools to assess and track individual progress, such as surveys, questionnaires, feedback sessions, and reflection exercises. Continued exposure and repetition can increase an individual's confidence and competence in dealing with different cultures, experiences, and lifestyles.
Exposure and repetition are essential factors for attitude change following diversity education. Exposure exposes people to new perspectives and viewpoints, while repetition reinforces the learnings.
Sustained practice and application are necessary for long-term attitude change. By continuously engaging with diversity education concepts, individuals can develop an open mindset towards other cultures and experiences.
How do exposure and repetition affect the durability of attitude change following diversity education?
Exposure and repetition are two important factors that can play significant roles in determining the durability of attitude change after diversity education. Exposure refers to the frequency with which individuals are exposed to diverse groups of people, while repetition involves repeated interactions between these groups. Both exposure and repetition have been shown to enhance attitudinal stability over time, meaning that they can help to reinforce new attitudes and beliefs regarding diversity.