Framing Narratives About Policy: Character Race Impact on Welfare Support, Stereotypes, and NIMBYism
Sponsor
Portland State University. Department of Communication
First Advisor
Lauren Frank
Term of Graduation
Fall 2025
Date of Publication
11-21-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (M.S.) in Communication
Department
Communication
Language
English
Subjects
Framing, Narrative, NIMBY, Race, Stereotypes, Welfare
Physical Description
1 online resource (vi, 60 pages)
Abstract
As the wealth gap in the US continues to grow, many struggle financially. Resistance to policy intended to provide relief, including NIMBY (not in my backyard) beliefs toward affordable housing, is often linked to racial attitudes. This project utilized an experimental design to investigate whether narrative can be used to overcome resistance in the context of government assistance programs. Black (n = 269) and white (n = 272) adults in the US were recruited with an online survey platform, Prolific. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (narrative with a Black character, with a white character, or no narrative). As hypothesized, participants who saw a narrative had higher welfare support, lower negative welfare stereotypes, and lower NIMBY attitudes than participants who did not see a narrative. Participants who saw the condition with a white character had significantly higher welfare support, lower negative welfare stereotypes, and lower NIMBY attitudes compared to the control, partially supporting hypotheses. There was no significant difference between the condition with a Black character and other conditions. Predictions regarding causal attribution of poverty and racial perceptions were not supported. Results provide support for the use of narrative as a tool for policy advocacy. Future research should further study the impact of character demographics on audience attitudes.
Rights
© Josephina Quintana-Mori Struck
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/44411
Recommended Citation
Quintana-Mori Struck, Josephina, "Framing Narratives About Policy: Character Race Impact on Welfare Support, Stereotypes, and NIMBYism" (2025). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 6994.