What effects Americans’ Attitudes towards Refugees?: An Analysis of the Impact of Reputational Framing

Date of Graduation

5-2024

Document Type

UAF Access Only - Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Political Science

Advisor/Mentor

Schreckhise, William

Committee Member/Reader

Bayram, A. Burcu

Committee Member/Second Reader

Paez Ritter, Rocio

Committee Member/Third Reader

Hare, Laurence

Abstract

In recent years, American policy regarding refugee admission has changed resulting in fewer refugees entering the U.S. in 2016. In 2017, Dr. A. Burcu Bayram of the University of Arkansas and Dr. Faten Ghosn conducted a public opinion survey asking 1,000 participants if they supported or opposed the United States taking in refugees from the conflicts in Syria and other Middle Eastern countries after carefully screening them for security risks. The questionnaire asks the surveyor a series of questions regarding their views and opinions through a mix of scale and open-ended questions.

Half of the survey’s participants were given an additional treatment that consisted of reminding the respondents of the United States’ reputation for being “a welcoming nation of immigrants and being willing to help those in need.”

In this paper I analyze the results of the survey and compare my findings to other public opinion surveys that explore the different explanations of Americans attitudes toward refugee acceptance. The goal of this research is to determine if reminding Americans of our reputation has a significant impact on attitudes toward refugee admission to the United States.

Keywords

Refugee Acceptance; American Attitudes; Reputation; Public Opinion.

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