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Institute for Public Relations

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Does What They See Affect How They React:
Exploring the Effects of Victim and Neutral Photographs on Reactions to Crisis Events

By W. Timothy Coombs and Sherry J. Holladay

An experiment has been designed to test the effects of photographs on crisis perceptions with the following hypothesis: Participants in the victim photograph (vs. neutral or no visual) condition will attribute greater responsibility, report a lower reputation score, report greater anger, and be more willing to engage in negativie word-of-mouth. The paper elaborates on the rationale and design of the study.