Portrayals of Immigrants and Refugees in U.S. News Media: Visual Framing and its Effect on Emotions and Attitudes

Abstract

This research explores the effects of visual representations of immigrants and refugees in U.S. news outlets. Study 1 examined news photographs about immigrants and refugees that were shared on Twitter by regional news outlets in all 50 states. Most photos contained either a human interest frame, featuring immigrants and refugees as everyday people, or a political frame, showcasing politicians. Study 2’s experiment determined the effects of these visuals on participants’ emotions and, in turn, their attitudes toward immigrants and refugees. The political frame increased negative emotions, leading to negative attitudes. The human interest frame increased positive emotions, enhancing positive attitudes.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

Scott Parrott (Ph.D., The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is an associate professor in the Department of Journalism & Creative Media at the University of Alabama. His research uses quantitative content analyses and experiments to examine the role of the mass media in social cognition.

Jennifer Hoewe (Ph.D., The Pennsylvania State University) is an assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University. She studies media psychology and political communication. More specifically, she researches the media’s ability to create and perpetuate stereotypes and in-group, out-group relationships, while also considering the influence of political orientations on media creation and consumption.

Minghui Fan (M.A., Emerson College) is a Ph.D. student in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. Her research interests focus on media effects, political communication, and big data analysis.

Keith Huffman (M.A., The University of Alabama) studied community journalism at the University of Alabama.

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Please contact the corresponding author for the full details of the study stimuli.

2. One item (pity) did not load well with either factor and was removed.

3. Positive emotion items consisted of hopeful, compassion, proud, sympathetic, enthusiastic, and happy. Negative emotion items consisted of afraid, fearful, scared, frightened, anxious, upset, nervous, depressed, outraged, tense, mad, worried, angry, disgusted, sad, and empty.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Grants Committee of Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at The University of Alabama.