Social Psychology of Identity and Stereotyping in the Media

Abstract This chapter is focussed on how the media may influence societal attitudes and behaviours, particularly in their coverage of refugees and asylum seekers. Traditional social psychological approaches to concepts of identity, categorization, and prejudice are discussed, followed by a review of relevant current models, such as intergroup emotion theory, integrated threat theory, and the so-called BIAS map (Behaviours from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes). It is proposed that refugees might receive greater warmth and increased perceptions of competence if they were reframed in the news not as stealing jobs but, rather, as future citizens, supporting their new countries of residence by doing necessary work and by creating new employment avenues. The chapter concludes with a proposal for five evidence-based strategies both for audiences to be more overtly aware of misleading media bias (e.g., the creation of ‘us versus them’ identity narratives) and for developing a more responsible journalism.