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The respect experiment: can tolerance be learned via norms?

Tolerance is not always full acceptance – more often it means a willingness to live alongside those with whom we disagree. Psychologists distinguish between two types of tolerance – general and specific – and ask whether they can be strengthened by shaping social norms, especially those based on respect. The experiment by Dominika Grubisz, a 2025 PSPS grant winner, uses chatbots that promote respect towards refugees from Ukraine in conversations with participants. The aim of the study is to see if inducing social norms can increase both general and specific level of tolerance.

INTRODUCTION | What is tolerance? This word can be understood in very different ways. For some, it is synonymous with full acceptance of ideas, views, lifestyles or behavior. For others – a rather reluctant acceptance of the presence of what is foreign, provided that it does not get in our way. A good example illustrating the discrepancy between general and specific tolerance is the issue of Poland’s acceptance of refugees from Middle Eastern countries. We say, “I have nothing against the others,” but when immigrants are to live in the neighborhood, there is resistance.

According to researchers on the subject, tolerance is not the same as acceptance. Rather, it’s a willingness to live alongside otherness – even if we don’t agree with it. It’s the ability to find ourselves in a world where others live next to us. It’s a decision not to fight against what is not ours.

“It becomes crucial to understand how to foster attitudes of tolerance toward minorities in situations where they are not accompanied by full acceptance.” – writes Dominika Gurbisz, PhD candidate, a student at the UJ Doctoral School of Social Sciences and a grant winner. “This raises the question of what mechanisms – including social norms – can effectively support tolerance in increasingly demanding social conditions.”

The issue of tolerance is one of the most topical in Poland due to the presence of refugees from Ukraine. So how to strengthen this tolerance? By creating and reinforcing social norms, which in turn will induce the right attitude.

We know that social norms, such as norms of respect, shape attitudes toward minority groups. More recent research also suggests their possible influence on tolerance levels. Unfortunately, it is still unclear how strongly and on what levels these norms interact.

The aim of the study is to find out whether, in fact, norms support only pragmatic tolerance, or also a deeper form of tolerance that expresses appreciation and respect for diversity.

“In particular, it is not clear whether respect-based norms affect only general declarations of acceptance, or also specific attitudes and intentions regarding support for minorities.” – writes Gurbisz.

HYPOTHESIS | The study is to verify the following research hypothesis: reinforcing norms of respect towards Ukrainian refugees increases the level of general and specific tolerance.

METODOLOGY | The independent variable is the induction – or lack thereof – of a norm of respect through the selection of conversation topics.

Interestingly, the study uses chatbots, which have already proven their usefulness in this type of research.

Participants in the study will be randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition – depending on the nature of the chatbots’ statements. In the experimental condition, the chatbots are to generate utterances that reinforce the norm of respect for others, while in the control condition they are to initiate a conversation on a topic unrelated to refugees, such as “What is more important in achieving success: hard work or connections and connections.”

The dependent variable is the level of tolerance, both general and specific. Respondents will answer questions of the form “Ukrainian refugees should be able to live in Poland according to their values” (general level) or Ukrainian refugees should have access to social programs” (specific level).

PARTICIPANTS | Participants of the study are adults; planned sample size: N = 374 persons.

In addition to the grant winner in a leading role, the project involves Dr. Anna Potoczek and Dr. Marcin Bukowski – both from the Institute of Psychology at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.

In this post I used:

Grant submission by Iwona Dudek
The illustration on the home page (i.e., the highlight image) was generated by artificial intelligence (Microsoft Copilot / DALLE).