How Media Portrayals of Suffering Influence Willingness to Help
dc.creator | Kogen, Lauren | |
dc.creator | Dilliplane, Susan | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2022-01-26T16:30:16Z | |
dc.date.available | 2022-01-26T16:30:16Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2017-12-15 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Kogen, L., & Dilliplane, S. (2019). How Media Portrayals of Suffering Influence Willingness to Help. Journal of Media Psychology, 31(2), 92-102. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000232 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2151-2388 | |
dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/7238 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/7259 | |
dc.description.abstract | When we hear stories of distant humanitarian crises, we often feel sympathy for victims, but may stop short of taking action to help. Past research indicates that media portrayals of distant suffering can promote helping behavior by eliciting sympathy, while those that prompt a more rational response tend to decrease helping behavior by undermining sympathy. The authors used an online experiment to test whether certain media frames could promote helping behavior through a more rational, rather than emotional, pathway. The study tested whether framing distant suffering as either solvable or unsolvable might promote helping behavior if a rational evaluation of a crisis leads one to determine that help is efficacious in solving the problem. Survey respondents were randomly assigned to read one of three messages: a high solvability message, a low solvability message, or a control message. Contrary to expectations, both low solvability and high solvability conditions increased participants’ intentions to help. The results suggest that this is because framing problems as unsolvable drives up sympathy, thus promoting willingness to help, while framing problems as solvable drives up perceived efficacy, also promoting willingness to help. The authors conclude that, in contrast to earlier studies, and to the assumptions of many of those working in media, emphasizing rationality can promote helping behavior if audiences rationally interpret the problem as solvable. Implications of the findings for ethically portraying distant suffering in the media are discussed. | |
dc.format.extent | 32 pages | |
dc.language | English | |
dc.language.iso | eng | |
dc.relation.ispartof | Faculty/ Researcher Works | |
dc.relation.haspart | Journal of Media Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 2 | |
dc.relation.isreferencedby | Hogrefe Publishing | |
dc.relation.isreferencedby | This version of the article may not completely replicate the final authoritative version published in 'Journal of Media Psychology' at 10.1027/1864-1105/a000232. It is not the version of record and is therefore not suitable for citation. Please do not copy or cite without the permission of the author(s). | |
dc.rights | All Rights Reserved | |
dc.subject | Distant suffering | |
dc.subject | Efficacy | |
dc.subject | News framing | |
dc.subject | Solvability | |
dc.subject | Sympathy | |
dc.title | How Media Portrayals of Suffering Influence Willingness to Help | |
dc.type | Text | |
dc.type.genre | Post-print | |
dc.description.department | Media Studies and Production | |
dc.relation.doi | https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000232 | |
dc.ada.note | For Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accommodation, including help with reading this content, please contact scholarshare@temple.edu | |
dc.description.schoolcollege | Klein College of Media and Communication | |
dc.temple.creator | Kogen, Lauren | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2022-01-26T16:30:16Z |