A study has shown that watching a gripping movie with first person narratives about the real experiences of individuals within the criminal justice system increases the audience’s ability to empathize with formerly incarcerated individuals and encourages their support for criminal justice reforms.

To conduct the research, lead author Marianne Reddan, M.A., Ph.D., and colleagues collaborated with formerly incarcerated people and collected their stories to be used in the study. The study published online on October 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings show the powerful role of storytelling in increasing empathy for members of a severely stigmatized group and to bolster support for reforms designed to improve the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. The study also illustrates the potential for the entertainment industry to shape public attitudes and promote social change.

Dr. Reddan is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Einstein.