slone 2000 media coverage terrorism
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Responses to Media Coverage of TerrorismAuthor(s): Michelle SloneSource: The Journal of Conflict Resolution, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Aug., 2000), pp. 508-522Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/174639.
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Responses
to
Media
Coverage
of Terrorism
MICHELLE
SLONE
Departmentof Psychology
TelAviv University
Differential
anxiety
responses o television
coverageof national
hreat
ituationsand terrorism
n
Israel
were examined.
A total of 237
participants
were
evenly
divided nto two groups,
each
exposed to an experi-
mental or control
condition.
The
experimental
ondition
nvolved exposure
to television news
clips of ter-
rorism
and
threats o
nationalsecurity.
The
controlcondition
nvolved equivalent-length
xposure
to
news
clips
unrelated o
national danger
situations.
Results supported he
anxiety-inducing
ffect of the experi-
mentalcondition
and ndicated
differentialdemographic
nddispositional
responses
o the footage accord-
ing to gender,religiousness,and level of dogmatism.Theseresultssupport hepowerfuleffect of the mass
media
and
advocate urther
xploration
of
links between media broadcasting
f
political
violence and
psy-
chological processes.
Research
on the influence
of the mass media
on
people's
attitudesand
emotional
states
has
a
long
andcontentious
history.Arguments
ange
romthosethatcitethe
mass
media as
a
powerfulpropaganda
ool capable
of
molding
the attitudes
of a susceptible
public(HermanandChomsky1988;Lee 1990)to those thatclaim the mediahas avery
limited
influence (Curran,
Gurevitch,
and Woollacott 1982).
However,
in
general,
unreliable
methodologies
and
complex
results have
plagued
this
body
of
research
(Blumler
andGurevitch
1982).
In the subdomain
of
mass media
reporting
of
violence,
a clearer
picture
has
begun
to
emerge.
In
general,
findings
have
demonstrated
hat media
documentationof vio-
lence
and brutalityengenders
feelings
of fear
even
among
individuals
who
have not
been directlyexposed
to such
violence
and
for whom it
poses
no
immediate
personal
threat
(Bandura
1986).
Furthermore,
esults
suggest
that the
extent and direction of
media nfluencemayvaryacrossgroupsorindividuals BlumlerandGurevitch1982).
However,
he
majority
of research
has focused
only
on media
reports
of criminalvio-
lence,
whereas the emotional
mpact
of media
coverage
of
political
violence remains
virtually unexplored.
In
light
of
this
hiatus,
this
study
focuses
on the emotional
response
evoked
by
media
coverage
of
political
violence.
More
specifically,
t investi-
gates
the differential
anxiety
response
of
different
groups
of individuals
o
television
coverage
of
political
terrorism.
It
has
long
been recognized
hat
political
circumstances
xertan
impact
on the
emo-
tional
status
of individuals.
The
deleterious
psychological
effects of
political
instabil-
ity and accompanyingviolence have been clearlydemonstratedn such diverse the-
JOURNAL
OF
CONFLICT
RESOLUTION,
Vol.
44
No.
4,
August
2000 508-522
?
2000
Sage
Publications,
nc.
508
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Slone
/MEDIA
COVERAGEOF TERRORISM
509
aters of
conflict as Northern reland
CairnsandWilson 1989),
South Africa
(Dawes
1994), Lebanon(Macksoudand Aber
1996), andGuatemala Miller
1996).
Congru-
ently, Israeli and
Palestinian tudieshave echoed
international indings
(Baker1990;
Klingman,Sagi,
and Raviv 1993;
Punamaki 1988; Slone, Adiri,
and Arian
1998).
However,
althoughmost past research
n
this area
has targeted heeffect of victimiza-
tion
or
witnessing
of
political
violence, the
adverse psychological
consequencesof
political
upheavalareby
no
meanscaused
exclusively by directcontactwith incidents
of confrontation
or
violence.
Most
individuals
do not assess threatto personal
and
nationalsecurityon
the
basis
of directexperiencebutratheron the
basis of more
indi-
rect forms of exposure.
One
of the most salient channels
through
which information
andperceptionsaregleaned s throughmass mediacoverageof politicalevents,which
may mediateassessments
of
threat.However, he
absence
of neutrality
n
the
majority
of
media
reports
has been cited
by
critics
across the
political spectrum Giner-Sorolla
and Chaiken 1994), suggesting
thatthe
public
is
exposed
to biased coverage
of
politi-
cal events that may
influence attitudes
and feelings
in
particular
directions.
The political
milieu
of
Israel
constellates
many
of
these issues
and
provides
a rich
context
within
which
to
redressthe lack of
rigorous
methodological
researchon the
psychological impact
of media
reports
of
political
violence. The
long-standing
peace
initiative n
the Middle East
has
failed to curb
he
high
levels of
political
violence or to
ease concerns or nationalandpersonal ecurity owhichbothIsraelisandPalestinians
are
exposed
on a
daily
basis.
For
Israelis,
the
establishment
of a Jewish state has for
decades been
fraught
with
opposition
o
its
autonomous
xistence, war,
hreats
of
war,
and terrorist
ttacks
Harkabi
1988).
Recurring pates
of suicide
bombings,
the assas-
sinationof
the
prime
minister
n
1995,
and the
faltering
sraeli-Palestinian
eace
pro-
cess
have intensified
the
ideological
and
political
divisions not
only
between Israelis
and
Palestinians
but also between
Israelis
at
opposing
ends of the
political
spectrum
(Arian
1996).
The
Israeli
population's reoccupation
with national
ecurity
s
reflected
in its constant
evaluation
of the
country's security
status
and the
plentiful
critical
debates
about t
in
the
mass media
(Jacobson
andBar-Tal
1995). Although
he
psycho-
logical
effects
on
Israelisof direct
exposure
o
war
and
political
violence as witnesses
or victims
have
been
well documented
n
recent
iterature
Klingman,
Sagi,
andRaviv
1993; Slone, Adiri,
and
Arian,
1998),
the emotional
mpact
of the
widespread
expo-
sure
to media
coverage
of such events
remainsunknown.
The
spectrum
of
political
attitudes
among
Israelis
oward
ecurity
ssues and
defini-
tions of borders
highlights
he
complex
nterweaving
f
political
and
religious
deology.
On
this
grid,
the
boundaries
of
religion
and
nationalismare
blurred
Tabory
1993).
Religiondictatesthatall the landof Israel s sacred,promised o the Jewishpeopleby
God,
thus
makingpolitical
claims for
the land andresistance
o its
surrender
nsepara-
ble
from
religious
belief.
Israel
s
perceived
as
both
a
nationaland a
religious
home-
land,
and
any
threat
o the
security
of the
country
can be construed
as a
peril
both
to
the
Jewish
religion
and
to the Israeli nation.
The
ideology
of the land
operates
together
with
security
concerns
and
perceptions
of
threat
n
orderingpolitical
orientation. n
this
way,
political
and nationalistic
attitudes
are thus
often
intricately
inked to
reli-
gious
attitudes
Arian
1996).
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510 JOURNALOF CONFLICT
RESOLUTION
There are
a
number
of religious groupings
n Israel,which can
be broadlycatego-
rized into
three divisions. First,the ultraorthodox
ews, who comprise
approximately
5%of the population,aredistinguishedby theirmodesttraditional ress, nsulatedres-
idential
communities,anddevoutpractice
of traditional
ewishreligious laws and
ritu-
als. Second,
the
religious
Jews,
who comprise
approximately 0%
to 45% of the
popu-
lation,
aremoremodem and ess insulated han he ultraorthodox
lthough till stringent
and devout
in their religious practices. Third, approximately
40%
to 45% identify
themselves
as secular
Jews
(Tabory
1993).
On
this
spectrum,
he ultraorthodox ommunity
ends
to oppose
most strongly,
and
frequently
more militantly
than other religious grouping
any attemptby the state
to
cede land to
the Palestinians n
the
frameworkof the
peace negotiations.
They arethe
most extremerepresentatives
f the interlockedreligion-politics usion. The assassi-
nation
of the doveish
PrimeMinisterRabin
by
an
orthodoxJewopposed
to
his
peace
initiatives
highlights
some
of
the
ways
in
which
political
opposition
divides the popu-
lation alongreligious
dimensions.
In the
Israeli
context,
the
enmeshment
of
land and religion
suggests
that Israelis
may
have
differingpsychological
responses
to
threats
o
national
security,depending
on
their
degree
of
religiousness.
General
indings
on the relation
between religionand
emotionalresponse
have been
inconclusive, with
some
studies
reporting
a
positive
relationbetween thetwo variables Koenig1993;Myersand Diener 1995;Neeleman
and Persand
1995)
such that individuals
with
high
levels of intrinsic
religiousness
experience
ess anxiety
thanothers
Mickley,
Carson,
andSoeken
1995).
However, he
majority
of
studies have found
no
significant
relation
between
religion
and
mental
health
(Hathaway
and
Pargament
1990). Surprisingly,very
little research
has been
devoted
to
this
question
in
Israel,
although
he few studies that have been conducted
echo
this
finding
of no
significant
relation
(Francis
and Katz
1992).
This
study departs
rom previouscorrelative
esearch
n that
rather han
examining
the
broadrelation
between
religion
and
mental
health
t
focuses more
narrowly
on
psy-
chological esponseso aparticularypeofstressorn anexperimentalesign.Specifically,
the
study
examines
the effects of
media
coverage
of threats o national
security
with
particular
eference o
differential
esponse
according
o
degree
of
religiousness.
This
refinementof
methodology
enables
a
rigorous
examinationof
the role of
religion
in
mediating
psychological
well-being
in
this
specific
political
context.In
addition,
n
the
search
or a finer
discrimination
f the
way
in which
stress
responses
o
political
broad-
casts
are mediated
by
religion,
this
study
includes examinationof the
dispositional
variable
of
dogmatism,
which
is
closely
relatedto
religious
ideology.
The
concept
of
dogmatism
was
developed by
Rokeach
(1960)
as a
measure of
authoritarianism ithout deologicalcontent(Sexton 1983).Rokeach(1960) defined
dogmatism
as a
closed
cognitive organization
f
beliefs
about
reality,
manifested
n an
inclination
o
be close-minded,
ntolerant
of
others,
and
deferential o
authority.
Peo-
ple
who
score
high
on
dogmatism
have
a
pervasive
outlook of
fear, pessimism,
and
concern
for
power.
Although
the
concept
of
dogmatism
was
developed
to
encompass
all
points
on the
political
spectrum,
hose who
score
high
on
dogmatism
also tend to
score
high
on
measures
of authoritarianism
Hanson
1968;
Plant
1960).
Authoritarian-
ism,
in
turn,
s correlated
with
conservativeor extremist
right-wingpolitical
attitudes,
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Slone IMEDIA COVERAGEOF
TERRORISM 511
nationalism,and religiosity (Adornoet al. 1950; Eckhardt1991) and shows
different
patternsby gender (McFarland,Agayev,
and
Abalinka 1990). Although the
relation
between
dogmatism
and
gender
has not
been rigorouslyexamined,some studies have
found
higher
scores
on Rokeach'sF
scale for men than for women (Duckitt
1983).
Dogmatism also appears o mediate emotional stress responses.
Rokeach (1960)
himself
suggested
that
dogmatism
s
a rigid but brittledefense againstanxiety,which
would be correlatedwith anxietyresponses o stress.Indeed,when subjected
o exami-
nation,
studies
have
shown
a direct relationbetween a high level of
dogmatism and
increased evels of anxiety (Anderson 1962; Nidorf and Argabrite1968).
In
accord
with
these considerations,
he
aims of the present study were twofold.
First,it attempted o extend existing but generallymethodologically ragileresearch
on
the impact
of
media
reports
of
violence to the arenaof
political violence and
terror-
ism.
In
the
attempt
o
employ
a
rigorousmethodologicaldesign,
the
study
nvestigated
whetheran intervention f a politicalfilm containing elevision news clips of
threats o
Israel'snational ecurityand errorist ctivity
n
the country nducesanxiety
responses
in an Israeli sample. Second, the study aimed to investigate whether the exposure
would nduceanxietychangesdifferentiallyn variousgroupingswithin he
population.
In
line with these
aims,
the
study posited
four
hypotheses.
The first
hypothesis
stated
that there would be
an
increase
n
state
anxiety
in
the
experimental
group
that
was exposed to the intervention howingterrorist ctivitiesbutnotin the controlgroup
thatwas
exposed
to an interventionunrelated o terrorism nd national
hreat.Positive
results for this
research
question
would reinforce
the
validity
of the
intervention
and
allow examination
of the other
research
questions.
The other three hypothesesrelated o the differential mpact of media
exposure to
political
violence
for different ectors
of
the
population.
To
explore
this
question,
hree
participant
characteristics
were examined.
These
characteristics
were
gender,
reli-
giousness,
and
dogmatism.
Regardinggender
differences
n
response
o
the
intervention,
he
second
hypothesis
stated
that the
difference
n state
anxiety
in the
experimentalgroup
would
be
greater
for women
thanfor
men.
This is
in
line with
prolific
researchon
gender
differences
n
stress
responses,
which
reports
hat
significantlyhigher
rates
of
anxiety
are
diagnosed
among
women than
among
men
(Myers
and
Diener
1995;Pilgrim
and
Rogers1993).
Regarding eligiousness,
he third
hypothesis
stated hat he difference n
stateanxi-
ety
as
a
result
of the
intervention or the
experimental roup
would
be
greater
or
reli-
gious persons
than
or secular
persons.
The
complex, unique nterweaving
of
national-
ism and
religion
in Israel
at this historical
uncturesuggests
that orthodoxmore than
secularIsraelismaybe moreinvested n maintaining srael'ssecuritywithout surren-
dering
and
n the West
Bank n
return
or
peace
treaties.
This
is due to their
strong
reli-
gious
beliefs
in the
legitimacy
of a Jewish
homeland as defined
in
the
Bible,
which
compounds political
and nationalistic
deologies. Thus,
visual materialof
threats o
the existent
structure
along
with
their
fear that these threats would not deter the
left-wing government
rom
and-for-peace
deals
would
be
more
anxietyprovoking
or
orthodox
sraelis
han or secular sraelis
whose
recognition
of national
ecurity
hreats
has
generally spurred upport
or
land-for-peace
deals.
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512 JOURNALOF
CONFLICTRESOLUTION
Finally,given the apparentinks
between
anxiety,dogmatism, eligiousness,
ndgen-
der, the
fourthhypothesis stated
thatdogmatism
would interact
with gender
and reli-
giousnessin determining heimpactof theexperimentalmanipulation n stateanxiety.
METHOD
PARTICIPANTS
Participants
n the
study
were
237 Israeli adults,relatively
evenly divided
by gen-
der.They ranged
n
age from
20 to 56, the averageage
being 34.7.
Participantswere
divided into two groups:120 comprised heexperimental roup hatwas exposedto a
media
intervention
of television clips
of
terrorism
and political violence,
and 117
comprisedthe
control
group
that received
an
intervention
of
news clips unrelated o
national
threat.
All
participants
were of middle-class socioeconomic
status
and held
various
public
service jobs,
such as
teaching
and other
technical, administrative,
nd
municipal
positions. Post
hoc
comparisons
between the experimental
and
control
groups
showed
no
significant
differenceson
the
demographic
haracteristics
f gen-
der, age,
socioeconomic status,
and parental
ducational evel. Exposure
o
one of the
two conditions was the only difference n procedurebetween the two groups.
INSTRUMENTS
All
participants
ompleted
the
following questionnaires:
Stateanxietyquestionnaire
Spielberger,Gorsuch,
andLushene
1970).
This
widely
used
questionnaire
xamines
state
anxiety
evel and
consists of
20
items thatdescribe
various eelings.
The
respondent
s
required
o indicate or eachitem,
on a scale
of
1 to
4 (notat all, a little,moderately, lot),thedescription hatbest reflectshis orher cur-
rentfeelings.
The summed
score of all items is a measure
of the
respondent's
tateanx-
iety.
The
questionnaire
has been translated
nto Hebrew
Teichman
and
Melink
1979)
according
o
the instructions
of the authorand
is
widely
used
in
Israel.
The
question-
naire
s
reported
o have
excellent
psychometric
properties
with cross-cultural
pplica-
bility
and
good
test-retest
and
split-halfproperties.
The
Cronbach's
alpha
coefficient
for the
scale
reported
n
the
literature s .91.
In
the
presentstudy,
the test
was used as
a
split-half
measure
with 10 items
administered
before the
interventionand 10 items
after
the
intervention
n
both the
experimental
and control
conditions.
The internal
consistencyfor the preinterventiondministrationwas a = .92 and for the postinter-
vention
administration
=
.95, yielding
anoverall
nternal
onsistency
core
of
a=
.94.
Rokeach'sE
Version
Dogmatism
Questionnaire.
This
questionnaire
onsists
of
40
items,
each
of which
is a declarative
entence,
to
which
respondents
are
required
o
rate their
agreement
or
disagreement
on a scale
from -3
(very
much
disagree)
to
+3
(very
much
agree).
A
general
dogmatism
score
is
yielded
by
convertingratings
to
a
1
very
much
disagree)
to
6
(very
much
agree)
scale
and
summing
these
ratings.
The
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514
JOURNAL
OF CONFLICTRESOLUTION
tained ocally relevant
news
clips thathadbeen broadcast
n Israelinational elevision,
but t did not containcoverage
of
terrorist ctivity
or
direct
danger o nationalsecurity.
After each condition,participants esponded o the
second half of the state anxiety
questionnaire.The experimentaland control conditions were randomlypresentedto
the
groups
of
participants.
At the end of the entire experiment,all participants esponded o a question con-
cerning
their
own or
their close
family's
direct
exposure
to terrorism.The rationale
underlying
his
question
was
to
remove from the study participantswhose responses
may have derivednot
from
media portrayals
f
terrorism
but from direct exposure as
victims.
Only
one
participant espondedaffirmatively,
nd she was removedfrom the
sample, leavingthe 237 participants f the study.
RESULTS
First,the delta
for
the
differences n state
anxiety
before and after he interventions
was calculated.
There was
no
significant
difference
n
state
anxiety
between
the
two
groups prior
to the interventions.
To
test the hypotheses,
a
2
x
2
x
2
x
2
ANOVAwas conductedwith the intervention
conditions(experimentalandcontrol),gender(maleandfemale), religiousness (reli-
gious and secular),
and
dogmatism high
and
low,
divided
at the
median)
as the inde-
pendent
variables
and the delta
(state anxietydifference)
as the
dependent
variable.
The first hypothesis
was
supportedby
a
main effect
of
the
intervention
condition,
F(1, 222)
=
127.34,
p