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Political views, not race, shape reactions to mass shooting data, finds NYU Tandon study
Sukumar’s research, which will be presented at 2024 IEEE Visualization next month, contributes to a growing body of work aimed at understanding how individuals interpret data on sensitive issues like firearm violence
Representative Image / Image- Unsplash
A study has revealed that political ideology plays a significant role in shaping emotional responses to mass shooting data, surpassing the impact of racial identity.
The research conducted by the NYU Tandon School of Engineering involved 450 participants who were shown bar charts of mass shooting victim data across different racial groups. Contrary to expectations, participants did not show stronger emotional responses to data about victims of their own race.
Poorna Talkad Sukumar, the lead author of the study and a postdoctoral associate at NYU Tandon’s Technology Management and Innovation Department, said, "We anticipated seeing evidence of racial homophily, but our findings suggest that the severity of mass shootings may outweigh such in-group preferences.But our findings suggest that the magnitude of the issue of mass shootings may override such in-group preferences."
The study found that participants’ political views were the most significant factor in determining their emotional reactions to the visualizations. Liberal-leaning participants displayed stronger negative emotional responses across all racial groups highlighted in the charts.
Sukumar’s research, which will be presented at 2024 IEEE Visualization next month, contributes to a growing body of work aimed at understanding how individuals interpret data on sensitive issues like firearm violence. Her findings underscore the need to account for political ideology when designing visual presentations of such data.
"The implications of this study are crucial," Sukumar added. "It suggests that political ideology may be a stronger factor than race in how people emotionally process information about mass shootings. This could impact how policymakers and the media present data to foster broader public understanding."
Oded Nov, Morton L. Topfer Professor of Technology Management at NYU Tandon, emphasized the study’s implications for understanding how personal beliefs shape reactions to information. "This research underscores how pre-existing ideological frameworks can shape our emotional reactions to information, even when presented in a neutral format," Nov said.
Maurizio Porfiri, Director of NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), added, "Studies like this are critical for identifying best practices in presenting data on firearm violence and improving public sensitivity to these issues."
This study is part of ongoing research funded by a US$ 2 million National Science Foundation grant awarded in 2020, under which Sukumar and her colleagues are investigating the "firearm ecosystem" in the United States.
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