When are anti-fat attitudes understood as prejudice versus truth? An experimental study of social influence effects.

Background/objectives: If people who hold anti-fat attitudes believe these attitudes to be true, then anti-prejudice appeals are likely to be unsuccessful, if only because the targets will not see their attitudes as in need of change. The current study examined processes that may lead people to see their anti-fat attitudes as 'truth' or as 'prejudice'.

Subjects/methods: Participants ( = 482) read anti-fat statements and were then presented with an interpretation of these statements as 'truth' or 'prejudice'.