Changing Americans’ Attitudes about Immigration: Using Moral Framing to Bolster Factual Arguments

Abstract

Our tendency to interpret facts in ways that are consistent with our prior beliefs impedes evidence-based attempts to persuade partisans to change their views on pressing societal issues such as immigration. Accordingly, most prior work finds that favorable information about the impact of immigration has little or no influence on policy preferences. Here, we propose that appealing to individuals’ moral values can bolster the persuasive power of informational interventions. Across three experiments (total N = 4,616), we find that an argument based on the value of in-group loyalty, which emphasized that immigrants are critical to America’s economic strength, combined with information about the economic impact of legal immigration, significantly increased Americans’ support for legal immigration. We also find a significant effect of the moral component of this message alone, even without factual information. These results show that moral arguments can strengthen the persuasiveness of informational appeals.

The Relationship Between Education, Racial Identity, and Immigrant Perceptions of Immigration and Law Enforcement in the United States

“…The trend in Figure 1 above is nearly flat, implying that the frequency of religious service attendance does not significantly affect predicted immigration preferences. This may reflect the influence of religious teachings and community values on attitudes toward immigrants, emphasizing compassion and support for newcomers (Voelkel et al, 2022). The positive coefficient for the younger age group suggests that individuals aged 18-34 are more likely to support higher immigration levels.…”

“…The impact of information and framing on shaping immigrants' attitudes must be considered. Research suggests how information about immigration and law enforcement is presented, whether through educational channels or media, significantly influences immigrants' perceptions and attitudes (Grigorieff et al, 2020;Voelkel et al, 2022). This aspect underlines the importance of context and narrative in shaping immigrants' experiences.…”

Perceived Economic Contributions Increase Support for Immigration Reform

“…A more more fruitful approach than providing raw facts might be to appeal to morality or values (Voelkel et al 2022) and to convey information in narrative form (Adida et al 2018; Williamson et al 2021, particularly perspective-getting narratives (Kalla and Broockman 2023). 4 In what follows, I show information on the economic contributions made by undocumented immigrants is effective at promoting positivity and shifting policy preferences.…”

Moral Convictions and Threats to Science

“…Preliminary data show that moral conviction is indeed high on many policy issues that invoke science, such as increasing investment into developing gene editing techniques and expanding nuclear power (Bayes 2022). Levels of conviction may only grow as more moral rhetoric is used around science and moral framing becomes a prominent communication strategy for advocates, given increasing evidence that it is effective for persuasion (see Voelkel et al, this volume). Contending with the potential threat of moral conviction will require acknowledging that the social returns to science are not self-evident and depend on public buy-in, a resource that must be carefully stewarded.…”