The dynamics of group risk perception in the US after Paris attacks

Abstract

This paper examines how the public perceived immigrant groups as potential risk, and how such risk perception changed after the attacks that took place in Paris on November 13, 2015. The study utilizes the Twitter conversations associated with different political leanings in the U.S., and mixed methods approach that integrated both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Risk perception profiles of Muslim, Islam, Latino, and immigrant were quantitatively constructed, based on how these groups/issues were morally judged as risk. Discourse analysis on how risk narratives constructed before and after the event was conducted. The study reveals that the groups/issues differed by how they were perceived as a risk or at risk across political leanings, and how the risk perception was related to in- and out-group biases. The study has important implication on how different communities conceptualize, perceive, and respond to danger, especially in the context of terrorism.