# Small gifts, big shifts? Testing the role of contact through reciprocal gifting as a prejudice reduction strategy

## TL;DR

This study explores if exchanging gifts can help Turkish children develop more positive attitudes toward Syrian refugee peers, finding short-term improvements but no lasting effects.

## Contribution

The study introduces reciprocal gifting as a novel indirect contact strategy to reduce prejudice in a hostile immigration context.

## Key findings

- Reciprocal gifting improved positive attitudes toward Syrian peers in the short term.
- Negative attitudes and social closeness remained largely unchanged.
- Effects faded within 40 days, indicating limited long-term impact.

## Abstract

Through two experimental studies (pre‐test/post‐test/follow‐up with control), we tested reciprocal gifting as an indirect contact strategy that could improve Turkish native children's attitudes towards their Syrian refugee peers in the highly prejudicial immigration context of Türkiye. In Study 1 (N = 144), children who were led to believe that they exchanged gifts with their Syrian peers showed more positive outgroup attitudes in the post‐test (unlike children in the control group), while there were no significant changes in negative attitudes or social closeness. In Study 2 (N = 207), we implemented an enhanced procedure whereby children created personalized and symbolic gifts, making the reciprocal gifting experience more engaging. Although this revised approach improved positive attitudes and social closeness, negative attitudes remained unchanged, and all outcomes returned to baseline levels at the follow‐up stage (approximately 40 days later) in both studies, overall providing evidence for the short‐term positive effects of the reciprocal gifting strategy. We discussed the importance of implementing creative strategies in hostile school environments.