A multidisciplinary research team from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, investigated how messages about a fresh start might improve public attitudes toward individuals with a criminal background.
Knowing from prior research that the US perspective often associates drug addiction with a blemished character, the team of UT researchers hypothesized that framing a messaging campaign in terms of the fresh start mindset might counteract the blaming attitude that can make people feel less inclined to help addicts and ex-offenders.
To test their theories, the team—marketing doctoral student Tyler Milfeld of Wichita, Kansas, and Dan Flint, Regal Professor of Marketing in UT’s Haslam College of Business, and Eric Haley, DeForrest Jackson Professor in the College of Communication and Information—partnered with Dave’s Killer Bread.
Read the rest of the article on the University of Tennessee news site.