“Just like there’s racism and xenophobia against racial minorities, there’s discrimination against LGBT people,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College. Her question of concern: how do you change people’s discriminatory attitudes?

Michelson examines this inquiry in her new book, Listen, We Need to Talk, which discusses a new theory about changing attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.

Michelson gave a presentation at the Carol Channing Theater about her new book to an audience of students and faculty on March 15.

AP Environmental Science teacher Katherine Melvin organized the event. “I think [Michelson’s] research shows something kind of exciting in that we can actually change attitudes,” Melvin said.

“It’s an interesting perspective on how the public opinion has shifted so rapidly, which is something that I hardly even noticed.”

During the event, Michelson talked about studies she conducted with co-author Brian Harrison on how different groups’ attitudes toward LGBTQ people changed when they saw a prominent member of their group supporting LGBTQ rights.

Michelson presented the Theory of Dissonant Priming, which she and Harrison developed after drawing conclusions from their studies. In Michelson’s studies, a trend emerged when they primed the identities of certain groups — emphasizing aspects of a person’s group identity — and found a leader in that group who supports the LGBTQ community. They saw attitudes shift in favor of LGBTQ rights. The trend, however, is only seen when support for LGBTQ people is not commonly accepted among a certain group.

Michelson and Harrison did a study with Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin where they surveyed Wisconsinites on whether or not they were Green Bay Packers fans. Packers fans often have a strong connection and identity with the football team, according to Michelson.

After identifying the Packers fans from the non-Packers fans, the fans were then informed that Green Bay Packers hall-of-famer LeRoy Butler was a supporter of the LGBTQ community. Because Packers fans found out that Butler was a supporter of gay rights, they were more likely to support LGBTQ rights than non-Packers fans by a significant amount. “[The results were] super interesting because sports fan identities are unrelated to gay rights,” Michelson said. “You can use these strong identities such as being a sports fan to influence something totally unconnected.”

“I think [Michelson’s] research shows something kind of exciting in that we can actually change attitudes.”

The dissonant priming trend was also seen not only in studies with sport fans, but also in studies done with African-Americans, Latinos, and religious groups.

Sophomore Emma Blenkinsop attended Michelson’s lecture. “It’s an interesting perspective on how the public opinion has shifted so rapidly, which is something that I hardly even noticed,” Blenkinsop said.

Although steps toward equality have been made, there are still obstacles that need to be overcome, according to Blenkinsop. With more acceptance and tolerance from the general public, Blenkinsop hopes that more open attitudes will raise awareness and support for the LGBTQ community.

Michelson also feels strongly about changing negative attitudes about the LGBTQ community. “If you can let people know that you’re an ally and you’re creating a safe space for them, even if they don’t come out to you, you can make [the] LGBT [community] feel safer and part of the Lowell community,” Michelson said.