This study investigated how visual framing influences discrete emotional responses, empathy, behavioral intentions, and efficacy in reaction to visual solutions journalism. A 2 (story topic: drug addiction, homelessness) × 4 (visual frame condition: no photo, solution-only, problem-only, combination) mixed design experiment revealed that images showing only social problems elicited the lowest levels of compassion in viewers, challenging long-held assumptions about the utility of social problem imagery. Image pairs showing both problems and solutions were revealed to be effective at eliciting moderate levels of emotional response, including hope, compassion, and empathy.

这项研究调查了视觉框架如何影响离散的情绪反应、同理心、行为意图和对视觉解决方案新闻的反应效率。一个 2（故事主题：吸毒、无家可归）×4（视觉框架条件：无照片、仅解决方案、仅问题、组合）混合设计实验表明，仅显示社会问题的图像在观众中引起了最低程度的同情，挑战长期以来关于社会问题图像效用的假设。显示问题和解决方案的图像对在引发中等水平的情绪反应方面是有效的，包括希望、同情和同理心。