Moral foundations, media exposure, and responses to immigration-related media content

ABSTRACT

This study examines the influence of moral foundations on the selection of immigration-related media content and responses to that content post-exposure. Participants (N = 225) chose one news article to read from a selection of six available that were pro-immigration, anti-immigration, or both for-and-against immigration. Some participants’ article selections aligned with their preexisting moral foundations. Those who read articles that were both for-and-against immigration reported strong willingness to listen to others with a different point of view and strong willingness to help immigrants. Implications associated with moral foundations, media exposure, and behavioral intentions post-exposure are discussed.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ Copies of the news articles used in this study are available from the authors upon request.

² A two-factor structure of the MFQ was also tested based on previous research (individualizing and binding; Franks & Scherr, 2015; Graham et al., 2012). The individualizing factor was comprised of the care and fairness foundations; the binding factor was comprised of the loyalty, authority, and sanctity foundations. Using AMOS 25, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, χ²(404, N = 225) = 1155.90, p < .001, CFI = .76, TLI = .74, RMSEA = .09. Based on these indices, the model was short of acceptable goodness-of-fit parameters. Because the individualizing and binding factors did not significantly increase the explanatory power of the existing structure of the MFQ, the five-factor structure of the MFQ was retained for subsequent analyses.