Terrorist attacks committed by the so-called Islamic State are rising in Western countries. A new Political Psychology study indicates that how the news media portray these attacks may influence emotional responses and support for anti-Muslim policies such as immigration bans.
Terrorist attacks committed by the so-called Islamic State are rising in Western countries. A new Political Psychology study indicates that how the news media portray these attacks may influence emotional responses and support for anti-Muslim policies such as immigration bans.
For the study, investigators developed a model to explain how threat components—such as threat severity (i.e., portrayed number of offenders) and threat controllability (i.e., diffuse versus non-diffuse terror threat)—of terrorism news coverage influence news consumers’ emotional reactions and subsequent policy support.
The study found that news articles featuring a high number of offenders increase individuals’ fear of terror, irrespective of whether the threat is portrayed as controllable or not. News articles featuring a low number of offenders only evoke fear of terror if the threat is portrayed as diffuse. Also, news articles emphasizing a high number of offenders combined with a controllable terrorism threat elicit anger on the government. Both anger and fear of terror subsequently increase support for anti-Muslim policies.
The findings may spur discussions on how to deal with terrorism in maintaining a healthy and inclusive democracy.
Additional Information
Link to Study: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/pops.12576
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Understanding the psychological aspects of national and international political developments is increasingly important in this age of international tension and sweeping political change. Political Psychology, the journal of the International Society of Political Psychology, is dedicated to the analysis of the interrelationships between psychological and political processes. International contributors draw on a diverse range of sources, including cognitive psychology, economics, history, international relations, philosophy, political science, political theory, sociology, personality social and clinical psychology.
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