Media‐Induced Elevation as a Means of Enhancing Feelings of Intergroup Connectedness

Abstract

The majority of research on media counter‐stereotyping of race/ethnicity has tended to employ positive portrayals or counter‐stereotypical exemplars as a primary strategy in eliciting positive attitudes among White participants. In contrast, this article reports the results of an experiment on the unique role of affective responses to media messages as a mechanism in inducing greater feelings of connectedness with a diversity of racial/ethnic groups. Our focus is on the affective response of elevation specifically, which refers to feelings of being moved, touched, and inspired by images of people engaged in morally beautiful acts such as love, generosity, and kindness. Results show that the experience of elevation in response to inspiring videos was associated with heightened feelings of overlap between the self and humanity, with this overlap associated with greater feelings of connectedness with those from a diversity of racial/ethnic groups. This connection was also associated with more favorable attitudes.

Broadcasting one world: How watching online videos can elicit elevation and reduce stereotypes

“…Given the assumption that elevation also leads to "attention to others" and affiliative behavior (Haidt, 2003), we additionally assume that meaningful media content will lead to an increased universal orientation, with viewers perceiving greater similarity between all humans (Phillips and Ziller, 1997) and stronger ties to their social network and beyond. That media-induced elevation can indeed enhance feelings of intergroup connectedness has recently been demonstrated by Oliver et al (2015) in the sense that watching inspiring videos was associated with heightened feelings of overlap between the self and humanity. Thus, we assume the following:…”

Why the Media's Role in Issues of Race and Ethnicity Should be in the Spotlight

“…Innovative research by Oliver et al (2015), presented in the current issue, helps further extend this consequential line of inquiry on prosocial outcomes, by testing the potential for affective responses to media to encourage interracial/interethnic connectedness and discourage prejudice. This novel approach focuses on the role that media enjoyment, in the form of the experience of elevation (an other-praising, morality-based emotion evoked from witnessing the admirable/virtuous acts of others), can play in promoting feelings of closeness with diverse groups in society, ultimately encouraging more favorable interracial/ethnic dynamics in society.…”

Where We Have Been and Where We Can Go From Here: Looking to the Future in Research on Media, Race, and Ethnicity

“…It is not always effective and might even lead to unintended negative consequences. Oliver and colleagues () present an innovative approach to overcoming the shortcomings of counterstereotypical and superordinate group primes by facilitating a sense of intergroup connectedness without promoting new dimensions of divisiveness. Interestingly, this approach does not involve any specific racial representations.…”

“…The present issue presents research involving a variety of age groups, including school-age children (e.g., Scharrer & Ramasubramanian, 2015), adults (e.g., Ortiz & Behm-Morawitz, 2015) and college students (e.g., Oliver et al, 2015). However, more research is needed to examine the effects of media on younger children who are still in the formative stages of ethnic identity development and only beginning to associate specific social groups with distinct attributes.…”