The dimensions of negative emotion and attitude change toward foreign countries at crisis events: The case of Japan's mass attitudes toward South Korea and China

Recent political psychological studies on intergroup relationships emphasize the crucial role of emotion in attitude formation and change toward outgroups. They also showed that the distinct dimensions of emotion play some differentiated roles. Relying on these findings, we hypothesize that emotion mediates the impact of the crisis event on the attitudes toward foreign countries. We also argue that the impact of emotion can differ along the distinct dimensions. To provide empirical evidence, we focus on the case of Japan in summer 2012, in which the most part of the public experienced international crises with South Korea and China almost simultaneously but in an only mediated and remote way. Our empirical analysis using a panel survey showed that the dimensions of anger and hatred played a crucial role in attitude changes, while the dimension of fear has no direct impact. Further, we also found the other socio-demographic factors and political attitudes were mediated by the relevant dimensions of emotion, but had no direct impact.