Affiliation:
1. Colorado State University, USA
2. Indiana University, USA
Abstract
This study investigated how the combination of textual and visual frames influences the attribution of responsibility for arrest and deportation of undocumented migrants and empathy. A 3 visual frame: (no photo, stereotypical photo, counter-stereotypical photo) × 2 textual frame: (episodic, thematic) between-subjects online experiment revealed that including a counter-stereotypical photograph in both episodic and thematic news stories had a positive effect on empathy for undocumented migrants but did not affect responsibility for arrest and deportation. Adding a stereotypical photograph to an episodic news story significantly reduced societal responsibility for arrest and deportation and decreased the level of empathy.