Emotional Response to Collective Action Media Frames About Islam and Terrorism

Peer group members of the Presbyterian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths were exposed to six identical video clips that featured three collective action frames pertaining to terrorism in the Middle East and Africa. Using a quasi-experimental contrasted groups design, participants rated their emotional responses using procedures that are similar to Mehrabian scaling techniques. The results indicate collective action frames presented in broadcast news reports can produce a wide range of emotions including hostility, anger, and outrage among members of various faiths. However, discussions with group members suggest that the reasons for these emotions varied among the three groups. Implications are discussed.