8
Perceptions of Threat and Emotional Reactions
Our first hypothesis was that news about immigration can affect perceptions about the potential
costs and benefits of the issue to Americans. Figure 1 demonstrates the simple main effect of positive
versus negative news about immigration. Regardless of the ethnic cue present, respondents were
significantly (F=14.31, p<.001) more likely to perceive immigration as a economic and cultural threat
when the news was negative than when it was positive.
8
---Figure 1---
However, we also predicted that these perceptions of threat would be accompanied by negative
emotions when a stigmatized group cue was paired with the threatening message. Figure 2 shows the
result for anxiety. White respondents report much higher levels of anxiety about immigration when the
threatening message is paired with the image of an Hispanic immigrant than when it is paired with an
image of a European immigrant. The interaction between frame and ethnic cue is statistically significant
(F=4.60, p<.03).
---Figure 2---
Figure 3 shows that the same basic pattern appears for anger. Whites have the strongest negative
reaction when the news is bad and the immigrant Hispanic (F=3.68, p<.06). At the same time,
respondents were least anxious and angry when they read a news story about the positive consequences of
new immigration featuring an Hispanic immigrant. These results suggest that white Americans do not
necessarily react negatively whenever they are reminded about immigration, nor whenever they are
reminded that (at least some) immigrants are non-white. Instead, they experience greater anxiety only
when the threat cues are reinforced by the presence of a stigmatized outgroup.
---Figure 3---
8
All reports of statistical significance are two-tailed.
Convention