The project was launched with Study 1a on German and Study 1b on Italian immigrants in Switzerland. While the results of Study 1a did not yield significant results, Study 1b about Italian immigrants showed that already one exposure to positive and negative reports shaped attitudes toward immigrants in the respective directions (i.e. positive reports resulted in more positive attitudes, negative reports in more negative attitudes), whereas the effect of mixed reports mostly did not differ from positive reports. Labelling nationality with nouns (e.g. an immigrated Italian) resulted in more negative attitudes toward immigrants than adjectives (e.g. an Italian immigrant), independent of report valence.
Study 2 on newly arriving African migrants documented that introducing migration from the perspective of immigrants, an episodic frame largely missing in mass media reporting on the current migration, enhances empathy that leads to more lenient attitudes toward immigration policies. Study 2 also showed that the power of mass media can be overestimated since its effects cannot compete with the effect of direct, first-hand, experiences with immigrants. Only direct, first-hand experiences with African migrants, and not information from the mass media, were associated with residents’ behavioral intentions to support migrants through their attitudes toward migrants. Past positive direct experiences with migrants were associated with more positive attitudes toward immigrants and greater willingness to donate money to a migrant-related cause, while negative experiences were associated with less positive attitudes and less willingness. The link between both positive and negative direct experiences with migrants and their attitudes toward migrants was stronger in people who are sensitive to immigration issues (i.e. those politically right-wing).
For Study 3, the fellow has invited researchers from in nine countries around the globe to test the effect of terms used for immigrant status on residents’ attitudes toward migrants and migration in distinct cultural contexts. The label “migrant” evoked more positive attitudes than both “refugee” and “asylum seeker”, through perception of lower threat and higher benefits from migrants (than refugees and asylum seekers) to host societies. Thus, description of immigrants can shape residents’ attitudes toward immigrants not only with respect to labelling immigrants’ background with nouns versus adjectives but also with respect to distinct terms interchangeably used for people who left their home countries.
Study 4a indicated that articles accompanied by an image of a male asylum seeker evoked greater sadness and perspective taking than articles without images, which in turn positively influenced attitudes toward immigrants. A previously not planned Study 4b employs images of female asylum seekers to validate findings of Study 4a.
The results of the IMMIGRANTS project have been so far published in two internationally recognized journals, Media Psychology and International Journal of Intercultural Relations, documenting their novel contribution to the understanding of the role of mass media in shaping attitudes of its audience. Other two articles resulting from the project are under review and in preparation. The project outcomes have been introduced at five conferences, three invited lectures, two seminars with workshops for professionals, two organized expert meetings, and in more than 50 media coverages. The results of the project and outcomes of related research have been continuously presented at the project webpage, Facebook and Twitter.
