Elite Rhetoric, In-Group Identity and Individuals’ Attitudes toward Immigration

• In Event: Public Opinion, Mobilization and Race

Abstract

We seek to explore the effect of elite framing and in-group identity on individuals’ opinion of immigration and immigrants in the US. Overt statements and behaviors steeped in racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia have all increased measurably during the presidential candidacy and administration of Donald Trump. Existing scholarship draws connections between the statements and policies of the Trump administration to this shift in public attitudes and behavior, yet we have relatively no knowledge as to how elite framing can counteract negative racial attitudes and behavior. Relying on online and face-to-face survey experiments, and building on work about perceived threat (Wilkinson 2015) and the power of dissonant identity-priming messages (Harrison & Michelson 2017), we will explore the extent that elite rhetoric can improve attitudes toward immigration, Muslims and immigrant groups.

Authors

• Betina Cutaia Wilkinson, Wake Forest University

• Melissa R. Michelson, Menlo College