The emotional effects of news frames on information processing and opinion formation

Current approaches explain the effects of news frames on judgments in terms of cognitive mechanisms, such as accessibility and applicability effects. We investigated the emotional effects of two news frames—an "anger" frame and a "sadness" frame—on information processing and opinion formation. We found that the two frames produced different levels of anger and sadness. Furthermore, the anger frame increased the accessibility of information about punishment and the preference for punitive measures in comparison with the sadness frame and the control group. In contrast, the sadness frame increased the accessibility of information about help for victims and the preference for remedial measures. More importantly, these effects were mediated by the anger and sadness that were elicited by the news frames.