Exploring Gun Ownership as a Social Identity to Understanding the Perceived Media Influence of the Virginia Tech News Coverage on Attitudes toward Gun Control Policy

Abstract

This study examines the perceived effects of the Virginia Tech shooting news coverage on self and others’ attitudes toward gun control policy and the moderating role of gun ownership. One hundred sixty-four respondents completed an online survey. Larger, third-person perceptions (TPPs) were reported for those who owned guns due to the reduction of the perceived effect on self. Exposure to gun-related news was associated with perceived effect on self, but only for non-gun owners. Results are discussed in light of TPP and intergroup research.

Keywords:

• Gun Control
• Social Identity Theory
• Third-Person Perceptions
• Virginia Tech

Notes

Note. Means with different subscripts differ at p < .05 by Tukey's critical difference post hoc test. Scores could range from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating a stronger perceived negative effect on the target.

*p < .05. **p < .01.

Most respondents (66.7%) reported learning about the questionnaire from Yahoo!® Group, 15.9% were sent a link to the questionnaire by an acquaintance, 3.9% responded to the link posted on MySpace, 2.4% linked from an unspecified online source, 1.0% stumbled on the questionnaire while surfing the Web, and 10.1% did not report a source.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anita Atwell Seate

Anita Atwell Seate (MA, Georgia State University, 2008) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona.

Elizabeth L. Cohen

Elizabeth L. Cohen (MA, Georgia State University, 2008) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University.

Yuki Fujioka

Yuki Fujioka (PhD, Washington State University, 2000) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University.

Cynthia Hoffner

Cynthia Hoffner (PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988) is a Professor in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University. We thank Jake Harwood and Dana Mastro for their insightful comments on earlier versions of this article.