{"id":1070,"date":"2026-09-07T19:14:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T00:14:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/?p=1070"},"modified":"2026-09-07T19:52:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T00:52:29","slug":"hablar-de-desigualdad-desde-la-esperanza-lo-que-una-conversacion-puede-y-no-puede-cambiar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/blog\/hablar-de-desigualdad-desde-la-esperanza-lo-que-una-conversacion-puede-y-no-puede-cambiar\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking About Inequality Through the Lens of Hope: What a Conversation Can\u2014and Cannot\u2014Change\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

A field experiment found that conversations framed from an optimistic perspective can raise hopes for reducing inequality. We spoke with two of the study\u2019s co-authors. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Mar\u00eda Fernanda Cardona1<\/a><\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Illustrations: Mar\u00eda Camila Lozano<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Allison Benson, an economist and researcher at the Center for Public Action Research; Juan Jos\u00e9 Rojas, a research assistant at the Center for Economic Studies (CEDE) and the Center for Public Action; and Juan Felipe Ortiz, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Osnabr\u00fcck, brought together hundreds of people to discuss inequality in Cali, Medell\u00edn, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Florencia, Villavicencio, and Bogot\u00e1. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The participants listened to a panel discussion, held as part of the Territorial Dialogues on Inequality<\/mark><\/a>, which took place between September 2023 and September 2024. At these events, individuals from academia, the public sector, the private sector, and the arts discussed the causes and consequences of inequality in Colombia.\u00a0Afterward, each person who had listened to the panel was randomly assigned to one of four groups: A, B, C, or D. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this randomized field trial2<\/a><\/sup>, participants in Groups A, B, and C had a one-on-one conversation with a stranger, randomly selected from among the other attendees. Each conversation was framed differently.\u00a0In Group A\u2014the control group\u2014participants discussed their experiences during the pandemic and the 2021 protests, without addressing the issue of inequality. In Group B, they discussed inequality in an optimistic tone (what solutions exist and what progress society has made). In Group C, they discussed it from a pessimistic perspective (structural obstacles and the difficulties of change). In Group D, participants did not converse with another person but instead engaged in guided self-reflection using visual aids and predefined questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe wanted to test something that has been studied in the literature: the way in which deliberative mechanisms\u2014not only in large-scale processes of citizen participation and dialogue, such as citizens\u201d assemblies, but also simply one-on-one conversations\u2014can lead us to new reflections on a social issue. And how that affects our reality and the reality we share with others,\u201d explains Benson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most significant finding of the experiment, published in the CEDE-TREES paper Changing Through Conversation<\/mark><\/em><\/a>, the discussions that took place were characterized by an optimistic tone. During these conversations, the participants\u201c hope regarding the possibility of reducing inequality grew. \u201dThe way we talk matters. We need to talk about the problem, but in a positive and hopeful way,\u201d says Rojas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The way we speak matters. We need to talk about the problem, but in a positive and hopeful way. <\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Allison Benson applies this line of thinking to the realms of activism and public policy. \u201cMany social organizations and activist campaigns are saying that inequality is wrong, that the ultra-rich need to pay more taxes. But how do we use these narratives in a way that fosters hope and possibility? Because often, social criticism and discourse on injustice end up weighing us down and closing off the possibility of change.\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Optimism increased, but to find out whether people\u2019s behavior had also changed, the study used a modified version of the \u2018Dictator Game,\u2019 a classic economic experiment designed to measure prosocial behavior. Before the panel discussion and after the activity assigned to each group, participants had to decide how they would distribute a potential prize of 200,000 Colombian pesos among themselves and another randomly selected attendee. The key, Rojas explains, is that the decision had real-world consequences. If the participant won, the amount they chose to share was actually transferred to another person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rojas explains that having the game carry real consequences is useful because simply asking participants about their preferences can lead to misleading answers, given their desire to please the researchers.\u00a0\u201cWe want to come across as people who give money, who are fair. But that\u2019s not necessarily what we would decide if our choice had a real cost.\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this front, the results did not show a statistically significant change. Before the panel, participants decided to keep, on average, 55.3 % of the prize; after the panel and the assigned activity, the percentage was 55.6 %.\u00a0\u201cWe found no compelling evidence that a simple, short intervention can transform behavior. This calls for designing experiments in which dialogue between people is sustained for a longer period of time,\u201d Benson notes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, although changing a perception is the first step, it does not guarantee a long-term change in behavior. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When discussing the replicability and representativeness of the experiment, the authors make an important clarification regarding the participants in the study. Before any intervention began, these participants already exhibited high levels of awareness regarding inequality.\u00a0This \u201cself-selection bias\u201d may have meant that the participants were already convinced, and, in part because of this, the experiment did not produce statistically significant changes in some of the results. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This does not invalidate the findings, but it does highlight\u2014according to the researchers\u2014the urgency of extending these conversations to more skeptical, diverse audiences who are less familiar with the topic. The true litmus test of structured dialogue as a tool for change, Rojas argues, lies with those who are not yet convinced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The true litmus test of structured dialogue lies with those who are not yet convinced. <\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Creating spaces for people from different backgrounds to come together in an unequal society\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the statistical findings, Benson proposes a broader discussion of the role of social contact in the perception of inequality.\u00a0In a country that is segregated not only economically but also spatially, people tend to construct their worldview based on closed reference groups, which leads to biased perceptions of the magnitude of the gaps and of their own position in the distribution of wealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome research suggests that people in privileged circumstances do not recognize their privilege because they are unaware of other social realities; this makes them less willing, for example, to pay taxes or support redistributive social policies. It\u2019s very important to bridge that social gap, which has become so wide because we live in such an unequal society,\u201d says Benson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From this perspective, the researcher suggests that interaction between people from different socioeconomic backgrounds can serve as a public policy tool. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is essential for public policies aimed at transforming inequality that the government create spaces where different groups can come together\u2014whether through an education system with less segregation between public and private institutions, transportation that bridges different realities, or public spaces where different worlds can meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing Through Conversation<\/mark><\/em><\/a> It does not conclude that a conversation can reshape Colombian society, but it does demonstrate something Benson considers valuable: that the way we frame social problems shapes how we understand them, and that even a conversation with a stranger\u2014if it is well-guided\u2014can foster people\u2019s optimism about the possibility of change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The way we frame social problems shapes how we understand them. <\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to the researchers, the goal for the future is to take the experiment to public spaces, to digital formats, and to more diverse audiences. And, above all, to people who do not yet believe that our social reality can be transformed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Mar\u00eda Fernanda Cardona is a sociologist and journalist.\u00a0 \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. A scientific study conducted in a real-world setting\u2014outside the laboratory\u2014in which participants or units are randomly assigned to a treatment group or a control group.\u00a0 \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Un experimento de campo encontr\u00f3 que las conversaciones planteadas desde una perspectiva optimista pueden aumentar la esperanza de reducir la desigualdad. Hablamos con dos de los coautores del estudio.  Por Mar\u00eda Fernanda Cardona  Allison Benson, economista e investigadora del Centro de Investigaci\u00f3n Acci\u00f3n P\u00fablica; Juan Jos\u00e9 Rojas, asistente de investigaci\u00f3n del Centro de Estudios Econ\u00f3micos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"descripcion":"Un experimento de campo encontr\u00f3 que las conversaciones planteadas desde una perspectiva optimista pueden aumentar la esperanza de reducir la desigualdad. Hablamos con dos de los coautores del estudio.","etiqueta":"TREEDIMENSIONAL","fecha_evento":"","enlace_evento":"","footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"Mar\u00eda Fernanda Cardona es soci\u00f3loga y periodista.\u00a0\",\"id\":\"3b47d803-5786-46e7-b30d-b1fb6c83f859\"},{\"content\":\"Estudio cient\u00edfico que se realiza en un entorno real \u2014fuera del laboratorio\u2014, donde los participantes o unidades son asignados al azar a un grupo de tratamiento o a un grupo de control.\u00a0\",\"id\":\"f72f94c5-720a-4ed1-a4e4-0662680223c1\"}]"},"categories":[13,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articulo","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1070"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1131,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1070\/revisions\/1131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trees.uniandes.edu.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}