Revista Latina de Comunicación Social # 068 – Pages 599 to 621 Research funded | DOI: 10.4185/RLCS-2013-992en | ISSN 1138-5820 | Year 2013 How to cite this article in bibliograhies / References JJ Igartua (2013): “Attitudinal impact and cognitive channeling of immigration stereotypes through the news”, at Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 68.
Attitudinal impact and cognitive channelling of immigration stereotypes through the news JJ Igartua [CV] [ ] [
] Universidad de Salamanca. jigartua@usal.es
Abstract Introduction: Based on research on the framing effect and research on the treatment of immigration, the processes of reception and impact of news about crime are analyzed. Method: We conducted two experimental investigations in which participants were exposed to a news story and later filled in a questionnaire with self-report scales. Two independent variables were manipulated: the mention of protagonists’ national/ geographic origin in the news story and the involvement with the topic. Results: The study indicates that when the involvement with the news story is low, the presence of information about the nationality of the protagonist exerted an indirect effect through attitudinal impact. However, when involvement is high, the indirect effect is explained by the activation of trains of thought which influence the formation and/or reinforcement of negative beliefs about immigration. Conclusions: The results are consistent with a dual model of news framing effects and reinforce the recommendations made by some organisations about not reporting the nationality of the protagonists of a criminal act in news programmes. Keywords: News framing effect; group cue; involvement; immigration; experimental research; mediational analysis. Contents: 1. Introduction. 1.1. Mechanisms of framing effects. 1.2. Objectives and hypotheses. 2. Study 1. 2.1. Method. 2.2. Results. 2.3. Conclusions. 3. Study 2. 3.1. Method. 3.2. Results. 3.3. Conclusions. 4. Conclusions and general discussion. 5. List of references. 6. Notes. 1. Introduction The Audiovisual Council of Catalonia was perhaps the first Spanish organisation to outline the way the media should report about immigration. The specific recommendations directed to media professionals included two that are relevant to the context of the studies presented here: 1) emphasis on references to issues such as the nationality or skin colour of the protagonists of news stories often does not add relevant information to the story, is not strictly necessary to understand the event and, instead, reinforces prejudices and acts as an implicit interpretation cue with negative or condemnatory intentions, and 2) similarly, and without having to systematically renounce to collective naming, it is not acceptable to associate an ethnic minority or a concrete group of http://www.revistalatinacs.org/068/paper/992_Salamanca/26_Igartuaen.html
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