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Reposted by Amine Sijilmassi

Edgar Dubourg @edgardubourg.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

New in Trends in Cognitive Sciences ( @cp-trendscognsci.bsky.social)👇 Why do people who love abstract art or imaginary worlds 🎨 also tend to get vaccinated 💉, support redistribution 💸, endorse animal rights 🐥, and try novel foods 🫐?

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

These findings suggest that the "deservingness" factor is an important driver of anti-immigration sentiment, and that addressing these specific perceptions in informational campaigns can be an effective way to reduce anti-immigrant prejudice.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Interestingly, our effects were observed across all political ideologies, including the far-right. For instance, around 1/4 of far-right voters accepted that, contrary to their prior beliefs, immigrants in France have not chosen this country primarily for its welfare benefits.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

The treatment also modestly reduced opposition to immigration, although the effect was not consistent across all studies. However, the treatment had no effect on voting behavior.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

We found that the treatment significantly reduced the endorsement of all four targeted misperceptions about immigrants' deservingness. The effects were strong and remained stable one week after treatment exposure.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

We tested the effect of this information treatment in two longitudinal studies with over 2,500 participants during the 2024 European and parliamentary elections in France, a time when immigration was a highly salient political issue.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

For instance, one paragraph in the information treatment debunked the common claim that immigrants in France choose their destination primarily to benefit from welfare services.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Using data from French administrative sources, we designed an information treatment correcting common misperceptions about immigrants’ "deservingness"—specifically their intent to work and their efforts to integrate.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

How can anti-immigration prejudice be reduced? In this paper, we leverage the "deservingness heuristic"—the idea that support for help/redistribution is driven by the perceived willingness to cooperate of the recipient (e.g. their intention to work hard, their efforts and motivations).

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I’m pleased to share that our latest study, co-authored with @hugoreasoning.bsky.social , Lou Safra and @coraliechevallier.bsky.social, has been recently published in @pnasnexus.org 🧵

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Interestingly, the treatment effect was significant across political ideologies, including the far-right. For instance, around 1/4 of far-right voters in the sample accepted that, contrary to their prior beliefs, most immigrants to France have not chosen this country primarily for welfare benefits.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

The treatment also modestly reduced opposition to immigration, although this effect was not consistent across all waves. However, the treatment had no effect on voting behavior.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Results: our treatment significantly reduced the endorsement of all four targeted misperceptions. This effect persisted one week after the treatment (in the second wave of the study).

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

We tested the effect of this treatment in two longitudinal studies with over 2,500 participants during the 2024 European and parliamentary elections in France, a time when immigration was highly salient in political debates.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Using data from French administrative sources, we designed an information treatment targetting common misperceptions about the deservingness of immigrants. For instance, one paragraph debunked the claim that immigrants move to France with the main goal to access welfare services.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

We investigated whether correcting misperceptions about immigrants’ "deservingness"—specifically their intent to work and their efforts to learn the language—could change public attitudes.

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Amine Sijilmassi @aminesoja.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

How can anti-immigration prejudice be reduced? In this paper, we leverage the "deservingness heuristic"—the idea that support for help/redistribution is driven by the perception of the recipients' willingness to cooperate (e.g. their efforts or their willingness to work hard).

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