Testing the Reliability of the Intuitive Motivation-Affect Misattribution Procedure (IM-AMP)

• In Event: Affect and Emotion in Mass Media

Abstract

Previous research using an intuitive motivation-affect misattribution procedure (IM-AMP) has demonstrated that the portrayal of moral domains in entertainment can influence the short-term salience of moral intuitions. Two experiments extended this research to examine whether (a) news content could increase the accessibility of specific moral intuitions and (b) the overall pattern of domain salience portrayed in news content could influence the pattern of domain salience observed in viewers. Although mixed support was found for specific predictions in study one, findings from both studies were consistent with predictions from the model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) suggesting that news can prime specific moral intuitions. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that the overall pattern of domain salience portrayed in news can shape patterns of moral domain salience in viewers. The findings support the theoretical logic underlying the MIME, and the ability of the IM-AMP to reliably measure the salience of moral intuitions.

Authors

• Ron Tamborini, Michigan State U

• Sujay Prabhu, Michigan State University

• Lindsay S Hahn, Michigan State University

• Pat Idzik, Michigan State University

• Lu Wang, Michigan State U