In April, we conducted our second laboratory study for this project, focusing on emotional responses to social media content expressing societal threats through gain or loss framing. 71 participants took part in the study.
Our primary objective was to investigate how the framing of societal threats influences emotional responses. Recent research indicates that positive frames evoke positive self-reported emotions, and negative frames evoke negative self-reported emotions. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment groups. Each group was exposed to social media posts addressing immigration and climate change, framed either positively to emphasize potential gains or negatively to highlight potential losses.
Our study aims to understand how individuals interpret the same stimulus as either a societal threat or not, and which emotional responses are elicited. Unlike previous research, which has primarily focused on self-reported emotions like anger, fear, and enthusiasm, our approach is methodologically robust. We incorporate a broader spectrum of self-reported emotions, utilize diverse measures of emotional response, including skin conductance responses, and employ eye-tracking technology. Through this comprehensive approach, we seek to gain deeper insights into the emotional nuances elicited by different frames. Additionally, our study explores the impact of opinion congruence on emotional responses.
The images in the posts, along with the threat expressed in the text on the image, were consistent across both positive and negative frames. For example, one image addressed climate change with a flooded field, accompanied by the text: “Climate change increases the risk of storms, floods, and a warmer climate in Ostrobothnia.” Similarly, an image addressing immigration depicted a Middle Eastern refugee with his two children, alongside the text: “Immigration to Ostrobothnia could cost municipalities several million euros.” The captions in the posts expressed the different frames (Table 1).
Table 1. The framing of the captions
| Gain frame | Loss frame | |
|
Climate
|
A Finland’s Climate Panel has released a new report, which also highlights positive aspects of climate change. “A warmer climate provides opportunities for agriculture and forestry to cultivate new crops like corn and tree species that have not grown well here before.” … |
B
Finland’s Climate Panel has released a new report. For Ostrobothnia, the low-lying landscape and waterways pose a risk of flooding. “Together with rain and snow, this means we must consider where and how to build in the future.” |
|
Immigration issue
|
C
However, Ostrobothnia needs labor force to sustain the Finnish welfare society. Population trends show that the population is aging, and fewer children are being born. “We need more people in the workforce, and this is achieved by bringing people from other countries.” … |
D Immigration to Ostrobothnia is expected to increase in the coming years, and politicians in the welfare area warn of risks. “A failed integration policy can increase the risk of street violence and marginalization and move us closer to the situation in Sweden.” … |
To ensure unbiased results, we randomized the presentation of treatments. Each participant was exposed to one gain frame and one loss frame, either A + D or B + C, in a shuffled order.
The text in the posts’ captions was extracted from articles from Yle and Hufvudstadsbladet, with each caption consisting of 40 words in Swedish.
- https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10006449
- https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10044634
- https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-1506322
- https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10031450
- https://www.hbl.fi/artikel/237c6db9-c271-4551-a0eb-5a73e528b066
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all participants who generously took part in the study, and to Experience Lab for providing us with their workspace and equipment.
Moving forward, our next steps involve analyzing the data and crafting scientific papers to showcase the findings of the laboratory study. Additionally, we are still in the process of writing and finalizing papers from our first laboratory study. Exciting discoveries await, and we can’t wait to share them with you.
The research project “EmoAffect” takes on the task of studying how emotional reactions drive affective polarization and focuses on which emotions that are crucial drivers. The project is funded by the Research Council of Finland and carried out at Åbo Akademi University.