Do Morals Featured in Media Content Correspond with Moral Intuitions in Media Users?: A Test of the MIME in Two Cultures

Abstract

ABSTRACT The model of intuitive morality and exemplars (MIME) predicts that moral representations in media content can activate related moral intuitions in audiences, and that audience members in turn are influenced by their moral instincts to select content featuring corresponding moral values. This proposition was tested and confirmed in a two-phase study. Content analyses measured the frequency of moral domain representations in top-rated popular TV serials from India and the U.S., while an implicit measure (MF-AMP) gauged the strength of corresponding moral intuitions in viewers and non-viewers of these shows.