Stereotypical Portrayals of Emotionality in News Photos

Abstract

This research content analyzed the news photographs of a major U.S. daily newspaper to examine the emotional portrayals of individuals in different gender, age, and ethnic subgroups. A multidimensional measure of emotion (pleasure, arousal, dominance) was used. A total of 1,595 individuals were coded. The results demonstrate that emotionality was stereotyped to some degree, particularly in relation to women, ethnic minorities, and senior citizens. Specifically, African Americans were depicted as excited whereas Asian Americans were seen as calm. Women were portrayed as happy and teens were shown as sad. The results support the social construction of emotion and suggest that the news media play a role in framing and constructing emotional meaning with regard to different subgroups in American society.

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