The Cost of the Veil: Visual Communication Impacts of Hijab on News Judgments

Abstract

Using disposition theory as a framework, this 2 (headscarf vs. no headscarf) by 2 (US citizen vs. refugee) experiment sought to elucidate the impact of visual and verbal cues in mediated messages on conclusions drawn from a television news package about a woman accused of consorting with a known terrorist group in the US, in terms of parochial empathy for and perceived innocence of the woman. Parochial empathy measures the difference between ingroup and outgroup empathy; higher levels indicate ingroup empathy is greater than outgroup empathy, meaning the individual’s empathy is very narrow in scope or “parochial.” Political identity was a measured independent variable. The data supported a model in which political identity was a significant moderator of the headscarf’s effect on parochial empathy, and that parochial empathy mediated the relationship between the manipulated and measured predictor variables on perceived innocence. Details of the relationships among variables are reported and the implications for theory and journalism practice are discussed.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication.

Notes on contributors

Colleen Connolly-Ahern

Colleen Connolly-Ahern (Ph.D., University of Florida, 2004) and Lee Ahern (Ph.D., Penn State University, 2008) are Associate Professors, María Cabrera-Baukus (M.A., University of Massachusetts, 1981), is Senior Lecturer Emeritus and María Dolores Davila Molina (M.A., New Mexico State University, 2014) is a graduate student at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University.

Lee Ahern

Colleen Connolly-Ahern (Ph.D., University of Florida, 2004) and Lee Ahern (Ph.D., Penn State University, 2008) are Associate Professors, María Cabrera-Baukus (M.A., University of Massachusetts, 1981), is Senior Lecturer Emeritus and María Dolores Davila Molina (M.A., New Mexico State University, 2014) is a graduate student at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University.

Ioana Alexandra Coman

Ioana A. Coman (Ph.D., University of Tennessee, 2014) is an Assistant Professor of Public Relations at the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech University.

María Dolores Molina Davila

Colleen Connolly-Ahern (Ph.D., University of Florida, 2004) and Lee Ahern (Ph.D., Penn State University, 2008) are Associate Professors, María Cabrera-Baukus (M.A., University of Massachusetts, 1981), is Senior Lecturer Emeritus and María Dolores Davila Molina (M.A., New Mexico State University, 2014) is a graduate student at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University.

Stefanie E. Davis

Stefanie E. Davis (Ph.D., Penn State University, 2019) is an Assistant Professor of Communications at Penn State Altoona.

María Cabrera-Baukus

Colleen Connolly-Ahern (Ph.D., University of Florida, 2004) and Lee Ahern (Ph.D., Penn State University, 2008) are Associate Professors, María Cabrera-Baukus (M.A., University of Massachusetts, 1981), is Senior Lecturer Emeritus and María Dolores Davila Molina (M.A., New Mexico State University, 2014) is a graduate student at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University.