The Effect of Emotionally Arousing Negative Images on Judgments About News Stories |
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| Authors: | Martin Smith-Rodden Ivan K Ash |
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| Institution: | 1. Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana;2. Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia |
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| Abstract: | Two experiments investigated the influence effects of negative photographs on people's attitudes after reading a news story. Experiment 1 presented an online news emulation to participants showing a story and images (high-emotion/low-emotion/no image) about African famine relief efforts. Experiment 2 replicated the design with a story and images about U.S. involvement in the Afghanistan War. As anticipated, using the predictions of the Affect Heuristic model of judgment formation, the addition of pictures with strong emotional activation had a diminishing effect on people's support for the war in Afghanistan and their support for famine aid. Additionally, decreasing effects were observed in broader attitudes concerning participants' support of a militaristic national policy in Experiment 2. These results are discussed regarding their implications for theories of judgment formation and journalistic practice. |
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