Looking at the immigrants’ faces. The study of audience’s emotions and attitude toward immigrants through a documentary film

Contenido principal del artículo

Marinella Paciello
Luca Cerniglia
Francesca D'Errico
Mariangela Cersosimo
Arrigo Pedón

Resumen

In line with the refugee agency recommendations (UNHCR, 2010) the present research recruited citizens in the general population with the aim of understanding whether positive media messages may foster acceptance towards refugee immigrants. The study has specifically considered the case of unaccompanied refugee minors verifying if and how specific affective and cognitive dimensions implicated in individual moral functioning were related to empathic or hostile emotions experienced while watching a documentary realized by refugee minors in a hosting centre in Italy. In addition, the relationship between different emotional responses and attitudes toward immigrations were examined. Fifty student were invited to complete pre-assessment questionnaire containing measures on empathic tendencies (e.g. perspective taking, Davis, 1990) personal values (self-enhancement values, Schwartz, 1992) and moral regulation (e.g. moral efficacy; Bandura, 1991). Then, voluntary participants were invited to watch the documentary film produced in the a European Project. After the presentation of the film, the students have to indicate their current emotional states and attitude toward immigration as spectators. Overall, the results showed that self-transcendence values, empathic concern and moral self-efficacy were positively related to sympathy, and negatively related to hostile emotions. Differently, moral disengagement was positively related to negative affect. Moreover, the presence of empathic affect during the film was associated with positive attitudes toward immigrations; on the contrary, the presence of hostile emotions was strongly related  to negative attitudes toward hosting. Overall, results suggest the importance of considering citizens’ moral sensitivity, motivation and moral regulative capabilities together audio-visual contents to better understand people’s emotions in relation to immigration and hosting.

Descargas

Los datos de descargas todavía no están disponibles.

Detalles del artículo

Cómo citar
Paciello, M., Cerniglia, L., D’Errico, F., Cersosimo, M., & Pedón, A. (2019). Looking at the immigrants’ faces. The study of audience’s emotions and attitude toward immigrants through a documentary film. Revista INFAD De Psicología. International Journal of Developmental and Educational Psychology., 4(1), 285–294. https://doi.org/10.17060/ijodaep.2019.n1.v4.1559
Sección
Artículos
Biografía del autor/a

Francesca D'Errico, University of Roma

Department of Philosophy. Communication and Visual Arts

Citas

Anderson, C.A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual review of psychology, 53.

Bandura, A., Caprara, G.V., Barbaranelli, C., Pastorelli, C., & Regalia, C. (2001). Sociocognitive selfregulatory

mechanisms governing transgressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 125–135.

Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of moral thought and action. In W. M. Kurtines & E. J. L. Gewirtz (Eds.), Handbook of moral behavior development (Vol. I) (pp. 45–103). Hillsdale, NJ:

Erlbaum.

Batson, Daniel (2011). Altruism in humans. New York: Oxford University Press.

Blasco, P. G., Mônaco, C. F., De Benedetto, M. A. C., Moreto, G., & Levites, M. R. (2010). Teaching through movies in a multicultural scenario: overcoming cultural barriers through emotions and

reflection. Fam Med, 42(1), 22-4.

Caprara, G.V., & Steca, P. (2005). Self–efficacy beliefs as determinants of prosocial behavior conducive to life satisfaction across ages. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24(2), 191-

Carroll, N. (2010). Movies, the moral emotions, and sympathy. Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 34(1), 1-19.

D’Errico, F., & Paciello, M. (2018). Online moral disengagement and hostile emotions in discussions on hosting immigrants. Internet Research, 28(5), 1313-1335.

D’Errico, F., & Paciello, M. (2019). Online moral struggles in hosting immigrant’s discourses: the underlying role of expressed anger and socio-cognitive processes. Journal of language aggression

and conflict, 7(2)

Davis M H. (1983) Measuring individual differences in empathy: evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44 (1) 113-126

Dovidio, J.F., Piliavin, J.A., Gaertner, S.L., Schroeder, D.A., & Clark III, R.D. (1991). The arousal: Cost-reward model and the process of intervention: A review of the evidence. In M. S. Clark

(Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology, Vol. 12. Prosocial behavior (pp. 86-118).

Thousand Oaks, CA, US: Sage Publications, Inc.

Dovidio, J. F., Eller, A., & Hewstone, M. (2011). Improving intergroup relations through direct, extended and other forms of indirect contact. Group processes & intergroup relations, 14(2),

-160.

Faulkner, N., & Bliuc, A. M. (2016). ‘It’s okay to be racist’: moral disengagement in online discussions of racist incidents in Australia. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(14),2545-2563

Graham, J., Nosek, B. A., Haidt, J., Iyer, R., Koleva, S. and Ditto, P. H. (2011), “Mapping the moral domain”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 101 No 2, pp. 366–385.

Haidt, J. (2003). The moral emotions. Handbook of affective sciences, 11(2003), 852-870.

Hoffman, M. L. (2008). Empathy and prosocial behavior. Handbook of emotions, 3, 440-455.

Igartua, J. (2010). Identification with characters and narrative persuasion through fictional feature films. Communications, 35(4), pp. 347-373.

Ingoglia S, Lo Coco A, Albiero P. (2016). Development of a Brief Form of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (B-IRI). Journal of Personality Assessment, 98, 5, 461-71

Esses, V.M., Medianu, S. and Lawson, A.S. (2013). Uncertainty, threat, and the role of the media in promoting the dehumanization of immigrants and refugees. Journal of Social Issues 69(3): 518-

Lehnen, C. (2016). Exploring Narratives’ Powers of Emotional Persuasion through Character Involvement: A Working Heuristic. Journal of Literary Theory, 10(2), pp. 247-270.

Moyer-Gusé, E. (2008). Toward a theory of entertainment persuasion: Explaining the persuasive effects of entertainment-education messages. Communication theory, 18(3), 407-425.

Myyrya, L., Juujärvi, S., & Pesso, K. (2010). Empathy, perspective taking and personal values as predictors of moral schemas. Journal of Moral Education, 39(2), 213-233.

Paciello, M., Fida, R., Cerniglia, L., Tramontano, C., and Cole, E. (2013). High cost helping scenario: The role of empathy, prosocial reasoning and moral disengagement on helping

behavior. Personality and Individual Differences 55(1): 3-7.

Pohling, R., Bzdok, D., Eigenstetter, M., Stumpf, S., & Strobel, A. (2016). What is ethical competence? The role of empathy, personal values, and the five-factor model of personality in ethical

decision-making. Journal of Business Ethics, 137(3), 449-474.

Sagiv, L., & Schwartz, S. H. (1995). Value priorities and readiness for out-group social contact. Journal of personality and social psychology, 69(3), 437.

Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology

(Vol. 25 pp. 1–65). New York, NY: Academic Press.

Schwartz, S. H., & Huismans, S. (1995). Value priorities and religiosity in four Western religions. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58(2), pp. 88-107

Sirin, C. V., Villalobos, J. D., & Valentino, N. A. (2016). Group Empathy Theory: The effect of group empathy on US intergroup attitudes and behavior in the context of immigration threats. The

Journal of Politics, 78(3), 893-908.