Tailored Diversity Training: Unlocking Greater Effectiveness for All

Diversity training reaches its peak effectiveness when personalized, reveals new research published in the journal Applied Psychology. Collaborating with Andrew Bryant, I developed an algorithm to detect participants' psychological personas during training. This system dynamically adjusts content, particularly benefitting “skeptics” who showed heightened receptivity when engaged with tailored messages, boosting their inclination to support organizational diversity initiatives.In a landscape increasingly attuned to personalization, the traditional one-size-fits-all model of diversity training seems outdated. Our findings underscore the significance of a learner-focused approach, categorizing trainees into identifiable personas. Techniques akin to jujitsu persuasion adapt the framing of the message rather than altering its core, which effectively resonates with diverse belief systems. With emerging AI tools, continuous improvement of training methods could profoundly influence long-term attitudes towards diversity.