Narratives Shape Cognitive Representations of Immigrants and Immigration-Policy Preferences

"Do these [criminalized] characterizations meaningfully impact individuals' beliefs about immigrants and immigration?"

A recent paper published by Martinez, et al. (2021) describes the cognitive effects of criminalized immigrant narratives, as well as immigration-policy preferences. The authors found that achievement narratives and corresponding homogenized representations promoted preferences for less restriction, and criminal narratives promoted preferences for more.