Beyond Ferguson: Implicit Impacts of Source Characteristics on Crisis Attribution

• In Event: Studies of Message Properties

Abstract

The current study will conduct a 2 (race of journalists: Black vs. White) x 2 (involvement: Ferguson vs. fictitious city) x 2 (timing: present vs. later) x 2 (attribution of responsibility: black victim vs. white victim) mixed subjects experiment. By doing so, this study will help journalists understand how racial characteristics can lead to publics’ tendency of responsibility attribution in a racially charged incident. In order to explore this, this study will particularly examine implicit stereotyping as a measure of journalist evaluation. Using implicit measurements that prevent socially desirable responses resulted from self-report measures of prejudice, the study will measure accurate stereotyping attitudes as participants partake in non-conscious and automatic implicit learning of stereotypes from society and media (Fazio & Olson, 2003; Mastro et al., 2009; Olson, Kendrick, & Fazio, 2009).

Authors

• Erika Katherine Johnson, University of Missouri

• Seoyeon Hong, Webster University

• Heather Shoenberger, University of Oregon