Ethnicity and Episodic Framing in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina

Subjects drawn from a national representative sample, oversampling for African-Americans, were asked through web-based interviews who they thought was responsible for the disaster. The study looked at 3 major groups of variables; demographics, attribution of responsibility, and knowledge.

The three groups eligible for attribution of responsibility were the Federal Government, local authorities in New Orleans, and New Orleans residents . Knowledge variables were gathered by asking respondents questions related to personal knowledge of Hurricane Katrina and the surrounding events. The study found that images affect attribution of blame, possibly acting an episodic framing mechanisms to reduce accountability.