Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Education
First Advisor
Laurie Stevahn
Second Advisor
Cynthia Dillard
Third Advisor
Jennifer Gess
Abstract
This study explored bias, prejudice, and hate from anthropological, neurobiological, and social-cognitive psychological lenses to better understand dehumanization of the “other.” The concept of neurorhetorics was introduced as a framework for understanding and mitigating our natural propensity to disparage and ridicule that which is not us. Neurorhetorics was explored as a means to mitigate bias, build bridges, and promote empathy and understanding across any and all differences. The Fishbowl model of communication was used as an intervention framework and this study examined its efficacy as an alternative to traditional rhetorical methods of discourse such as interviews, debates, and focus groups to engage in dialogue across difference. Using a mixed-methods design, the researchers examined the efficacy and impact of Fishbowls as a means of mitigating biases between in-group and out-group members across three historically divided social identity categories of gender, race, and political partisanship. Participants in this study were college students at an institution of higher education who self-identified as being members of the various groups being explored. Through Fishbowl conversations, in-group participants sitting in a circle engaged in dialogue to respond to questions generated by out-group participants who observed and listened; roles then shifted so that all participants experienced responding as well as observing and listening to promote better understanding of each other. Likert scale surveys were distributed before and after each Fishbowl experience to determine pre-post differences in attitudes and perceptions. The findings of this study have implications for providing a strategic framework through which participants are deeply heard and which leaders can use to help bridge differences that divide us socially. Fishbowls may be facilitated across industries, academic institutions, community organizations, social settings, and even at home to mitigate and reverse the pervasiveness of engaging in dehumanization of the “other.”
Recommended Citation
Akins, Shalina Jasmine and Krivanek, Steven Ray, "Fishing for Empathy: Fishbowls and Neurorhetorics for Mitigating Bias, Prejudice, and Hate in Human Relations" (2025). Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership Dissertations. 21.
https://scholarworks.seattleu.edu/eoll-dissertations/21