Visual Portrayals of People in Need
The Impact of Refugee Depictions, Compassion, and Support for Humanitarian Aid
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12233152 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Delia Dumitrescu (0000-0002-0065-3875, Heidelberg University, corresponding author), Erik P Bucy (0000-0003-4925-2244, Texas Tech University) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 818-839 |
| Publication date | 2021-08-06 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Public Opinion Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0954-2892 • E-ISSN: 1471-6909 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ijpor/edab016 |
| OpenAlex | W3197159201 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 30 |
As conflicts flare around the world, images of refugees have become a familiar presence in Western media. Drawing on existing accounts of visual influence, this analysis explores how (un)sympathetic refugee portrayals in news accounts affect distant viewers’ compassion responses and refugee policy attitudes. The study reports the results of three survey experiments, in Sweden, the United States, and the UK, involving 25 unique images and over 4,500 combined respondents. Building on previous work on Moral Foundations Theory, we find the manifest vulnerability of depicted refugees to be an important influence on how visual portrayals evoke sympathy and impact conservatives’ (but not liberals’) compassion responses. Once activated, compassion is found to mediate the effect of refugee portrayals on right-wing support for refugee aid
Affect (linguistics · Compassion · Computer security · Criminology · Political science · Refugee · Sympathy · Vulnerability (computing · Leadership, Courage, and Heroism Studies · Media Influence and Health · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Communication · Law · Social Psychology
Compassion Fade
Shifting Liberal and Conservative Attitudes Using Moral Foundations Theory
Elected in 100 milliseconds
Exemplification Effects in the Promotion of Safety and Health
Taking Television Seriously
A Clearer Picture
From Gulf to Bridge
Above and Below Left–Right
The Moral Roots of Environmental Attitudes
Taking leaders at face value
Compassion
The “identified victim” effect
The Discourse of Global Compassion
Visual framing of the European refugee crisis in Der Spiegel and CNN International
Image Bite Politics
What You See Is What You Get
The visual dehumanisation of refugees
Striking a Responsive Chord
Liberals and conservatives rely on different sets of moral foundations
Mapping the moral domain
Nonverbal Communication in Politics
Helping Strangers Is Lower in Embedded Cultures
Cross-Cultural Differences in Helping Strangers
Reconsidering Baron and Kenny
When Morality Opposes Justice
| Citations per year | 1.33 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Highly cited | No |