Don’t throw the frame out with the bathwater: How episodic news frames can prevent identity-motivated reasoning

Ming Boyer*, Sophie Lecheler, Loes Aaldering

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Framing research has predominantly revealed detrimental effects of episodic news frames, including individualist blame attributions and political cynicism. However, such frames may also discourage group biases and impede motivated reasoning regarding identity politics. In two experiments (N = 815; N = 1,019), we test the effect of episodic frames on group-consonant attitudes through identity-motivated reasoning. The two studies produce mixed results. Episodic frames might decrease gender-motivated reasoning for women with weaker gender identities when news threatens their identity, but not for men or for women with stronger gender identities. The implications for journalism and democracy are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)933-954
Number of pages22
JournalJournalism & Mass Communication Quarterly
Volume101
Issue number4
Early online date8 Jun 2022
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2024

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