The Effects of Political Conflict News Frame on Political Polarization: A Social Identity Approach

Authors

  • Youngju Kim Konkuk University
  • Shuhua Zhou University of Missouri

Keywords:

polarization, framing, identity salience, party conflict news

Abstract

News media and journalists tend to focus on political conflicts between major parties rather than on issue content. Does this news reporting behavior encourage the psychological process of polarization? By linking framing with social identity and self-categorization theories, this study explores how news frames affect political polarization through the party identification process. Results of this experimental study showed that the political conflict news frame played an important role as a contextual/situational factor that momentarily increased people’s political identity salience, resulting in perceptual and attitudinal political polarization. Implications are discussed.

Author Biographies

Youngju Kim, Konkuk University

Youngju Kim
Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Mass Communicationyoungjukim83@gmail.com(530) 405-9915

Shuhua Zhou, University of Missouri

Shuhua ZhouProfessor
Leonard H. Goldenson Endowed ChairMissouri School of Journalismzhoushuh@missouri.edu(573) 882-7241

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Published

2020-02-13

Issue

Section

Articles