The role of propaganda in changing attitudes and policy decisions regarding illegal immigrants

This research explored the ability of hate-speech propaganda to influence attitudes about illegal immigrants and the willingness to support harsh anti-illegal immigrant policies, and the roles of Right-wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) in mitigating these effects. Participants included 324 Rutgers University undergraduates enrolled in introductory social psychology classes. Results indicate that generally, exposure to negative propaganda messages lead to more negative attitudes about illegal immigrants. Results also indicate that RWA and SDO moderated the effects of negative propaganda, such that: high RWA/SDO individuals expressed the most negative attitudes and policy support, while low RWA/SDO individuals showed almost difference after viewing negative propaganda. The predictive capabilities of RWA/SDO, general trends in perceptions of illegal immigrants and strengths/weaknesses of propaganda messages are discussed.