Effects of Media on College Student Attitudes Towards Islam
Poster Number
13
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Gary Howells
Faculty Mentor Department
Psychology
Abstract/Artist Statement
In today’s technology driven climate, media coverage is crucial to most people’s understanding the events in the world. Media coverage can also shape people’s thoughts about a certain subject, such as feelings towards groups of people. The present study will examine the effect of media coverage on the attitudes of college students towards Islam; particularly, the effects that some media may subsequently produce fear towards Muslims and Islamic culture. Previous research has found that since September 11th, 2001, fears towards Muslims have steadily increased and persisted (Lee, Gibson, Thompson, & Timami, 2009). In the current study, participants from a small private college will be taking a previously validated scale, the Islamophobia scale by Lee et al. (2009). After the first implementation of the scale, the participant will watch either a neutral or negatively biased video about Islam. The participants will wait twenty-four hours and retake the Islamaphobia scale. Researchers hypothesize that the viewing of a negatively biased video about Islam will not affect the participants’ scores on the Islamaphobia scale. In order to test the hypothesis, researchers will run statistical tests such as a paired sample T-test to assess the differences between each participant’s scores. This area of research is important in assessing the views of college students in regards to Islam, and measuring the overall effects of how media can shape those views. Future research can assess the differences of attitudes towards Islam in regards to gender, age, and religious views.
Location
Tiger Lounge
Start Date
21-4-2012 10:00 AM
End Date
21-4-2012 12:00 PM
Effects of Media on College Student Attitudes Towards Islam
Tiger Lounge
In today’s technology driven climate, media coverage is crucial to most people’s understanding the events in the world. Media coverage can also shape people’s thoughts about a certain subject, such as feelings towards groups of people. The present study will examine the effect of media coverage on the attitudes of college students towards Islam; particularly, the effects that some media may subsequently produce fear towards Muslims and Islamic culture. Previous research has found that since September 11th, 2001, fears towards Muslims have steadily increased and persisted (Lee, Gibson, Thompson, & Timami, 2009). In the current study, participants from a small private college will be taking a previously validated scale, the Islamophobia scale by Lee et al. (2009). After the first implementation of the scale, the participant will watch either a neutral or negatively biased video about Islam. The participants will wait twenty-four hours and retake the Islamaphobia scale. Researchers hypothesize that the viewing of a negatively biased video about Islam will not affect the participants’ scores on the Islamaphobia scale. In order to test the hypothesis, researchers will run statistical tests such as a paired sample T-test to assess the differences between each participant’s scores. This area of research is important in assessing the views of college students in regards to Islam, and measuring the overall effects of how media can shape those views. Future research can assess the differences of attitudes towards Islam in regards to gender, age, and religious views.