Eleventh Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Migration is a major force that shapes our world today. People have always migrated to escape hunger, war, suppression, and pursue fortune, peace, and freedom. In the last few years, hundreds of thousands of people once again have been forced to embark on perilous journeys to escape war, gang violence, and destitution in central America and the Middle East, and to find a home in the United States, European countries, and elsewhere. This study explores media’s impact on U.S. citizens’ attitudes toward immigrants. Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, I explore how personal differences (i.e., universalism, security, conformity, ethnocentrism, nationalism, party identification, political ideology, and personal contact with immigrants) influence individuals’ motives for accessing news on media, how these motives affect the amount and type of news exposure, and eventually, how personal differences, motives, and news exposure work together to influence opinions toward immigration (i.e., evaluation of the impact of immigration on American society and their perceptions of realistic and symbolic threats from immigrants). Data collected from a national sample of U.S. citizens were analyzed with path analysis. This study has important theoretical and practical implications. Firstly, answers to these questions could help us better understand the respective role of media and individual differences in shaping opinions on immigration. Secondly, findings of this study extend literature on uses and gratification theory and on media effects in general. Thirdly, I present empirical evidence helping clarifying to what extent Americans are polarized on the issue of immigration and factors influencing their attitudes.