About the Research

Did the Shared Values Initiative television commercials work? Were viewers more likely after seeing the commercials to perceive the United States as being tolerant of Muslims and the Islamic faith? Did their views toward America become more favorable?

Research Design

To answer these questions, Professors Fullerton and Kendrick conducted pre-post experiments. The data were collected from more than 500 international students from 39 countries. The experiments were conducted from July 2003 to September 2005 in London, Singapore and Cairo.

Students who participated in the experiments first completed a written questionnaire regarding their attitudes toward the U.S. government, the U.S. people and whether Muslims were treated fairly in America. They were then shown the SVI commercials, after which they completed a post-test questionnaire containing the same attitudinal questions.

Findings

In general, the findings showed that viewing the commercials improved students' attitudes toward the United States, especially in terms of perceptions of how Muslims are treated. Moreover, the findings show that the effects were somewhat stronger for Muslim students than for Christians and others.