Media, Mind, and Crime: Psychological and Communicative Dimensions of Criminal Representation

Abstract

This study examined how media representations of crime influenced public psychology and communicative meaning-making within contemporary digital and news environments. Focusing on the interaction between media framing, emotional processing, and audience interpretation, the research investigated how crime narratives shaped fear of crime, trust in criminal justice institutions, and perceived social risk. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining a systematic content analysis of crime-related media with a survey of media users to assess psychological and attitudinal outcomes. The results showed that higher exposure to crime-focused media was associated with increased fear, heightened perceptions of crime severity, and declining confidence in law enforcement and judicial systems. Sensationalized framing significantly intensified emotional arousal and threat perception, whereas contextualized reporting produced more balanced and less fear-driven evaluations. These findings indicated that media narratives did not simply reflect crime but actively constructed symbolic meanings about danger, morality, and social order. The study also found that digital platforms and true-crime formats amplified these effects by encouraging emotional engagement, repetition, and participatory interpretation of criminal events. By integrating psychological theories of fear, attention, and narrative processing with communication theories of framing and media effects, the research offered a comprehensive model explaining how crime representations shaped both individual cognition and collective attitudes. The study contributed to media psychology and criminological communication by demonstrating that mediated crime narratives played a central role in shaping public consciousness, with important implications for journalism ethics, digital platform governance, and public trust in justice systems.

References

Albrecht, K., Horvath, L., & Heikel, M. (2022). Assigning punishment: Reader responses to crime news. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 784428. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.784428

Alfaro-Beracoechea, L., Puente, A., Da Costa, S., Ruvalcaba, N., & Páez, D. (2018). Effects of fear of crime on subjective well-being: A meta-analytic review. European Journal of Psychology Applied to Legal Contexts, 10(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.5093/ejpalc2018a9

Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social media and fake news in the 2016 election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), 211–236. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.31.2.211

Andersen, K., Djerf-Pierre, M., & Shehata, A. (2024). The scary world syndrome: News orientations, negativity bias, and the cultivation of anxiety. Mass Communication and Society, 27(3), 502–524. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2023.2297829

Andersen, M. M., Schjoedt, U., Price, H., Rosas, F. E., Scrivner, C., & Clasen, M. (2020). Playing with fear: A field study in recreational horror. Psychological Science, 31(12), 1497–1510. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620972116

Arango Pastrana, C., Vallejo-Trujillo, S., & Osorio-Andrade, C. F. (2025). The communication of fear: Factors of crime news impacting engagement on social networks. Journalism and Media, 6(3), 132. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6030132

Boling, K. S., & Hull, K. (2023). True crime consumption and audience motivations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 100(1), 173–195. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221097123

Boling, K. S., Hull, K., & Hocking, J. (2023). True crime consumption and fear-based engagement. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 67(2), 223–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2023.2171847

Boukes, M., & Vliegenthart, R. (2023). Framing responsibility in crime news. Journalism Studies, 24(6), 781–799. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2100485

Bright, J., De Sabbata, S., & Lee, S. (2022). Perceived crime risk on social media. New Media & Society, 24(8), 1890–1912. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211013644

Busselle, R., & Bilandzic, H. (2022). Narrative persuasion and emotional engagement. Communication Theory, 32(4), 456–478. https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtac009

Chyi, H. I., & McCombs, M. (2023). News framing in digital journalism. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 25(2), 67–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/15226379221146897

Dardis, F. E., & Shen, F. (2022). Episodic and thematic crime framing effects. Communication Research, 49(7), 1015–1038. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211038376

Dill-Shackleford, K. E., Rimal, R. N., & Nettleton, C. (2022). Crime narratives and fear responses. Media Psychology, 25(4), 519–543. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.1992635

Emelu, M. N., & Brossmann, B. (2025). From guns to mental health and accountability: Decoding media narratives and audience reactions in public mass shootings. Journalism and Media, 6(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia6010011

Green, M. C., Brock, T. C., & Kaufman, G. F. (2022). Understanding media-based narrative persuasion. Journal of Media Psychology, 34(3), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000323

Greer, C., & McLaughlin, E. (2022). Crime, media and moral boundaries. Crime, Media, Culture, 18(3), 343–360. https://doi.org/10.1177/17416590211028278

Hassan, B., Rafiq-uz-Zaman, M., & Khan, Z. A. (2025). Beyond memorization: Cultivating critical thinking skills through classic literature in secondary education for the 21st century learner. Review of Education, Administration & Law, 8(1), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.47067/real.v8i1.410

Holbert, R. L., Garrett, R. K., & Gleason, L. S. (2023). News use and perceived crime threat. Political Communication, 40(1), 72–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2103246

Khalid, N., Rafiq-uz-Zaman, M., Tahira, W., & Maqbool, M. (2024). Solid waste and environmental sustainability: Educational approaches to managing urban waste in Bahawalpur City. Journal of Climate and Community Development, 3(2), 155–170. https://joccd.com/index.php/joccd/article/view/50

Kim, J., & Kim, S. (2023). Algorithmic amplification of crime news. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 67(2), 250–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2023.2184376

Kümpel, A. S., & Rieger, D. (2023). Emotional news diffusion on social media. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, Article 107510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107510

Lecheler, S., De Vreese, C. H., & Slothuus, R. (2023). Emotional framing effects in news. Political Communication, 40(1), 26–47. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2022.2080364

Lindgren, S. (2022). True crime as digital participatory culture. Information, Communication & Society, 25(11), 1601–1617. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1874472

Marino, C., Gini, G., & Vieno, A. (2023). Personality and media-induced fear. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 93, Article 102641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102641

Marino, C., Vieno, A., & Gini, G. (2023). Individual differences in fear-based media processing. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 93, Article 102646. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2023.102646

Murphy, K., Bradford, B., & Jackson, J. (2023). Media narratives and trust in justice. Justice Quarterly, 40(4), 712–736. https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2022.2081987

Nadeem, M. A., Khan, Z. A., & Rafiq-uz-Zaman, M. (2024). A comparative analysis of public and private school teachers perception on single national curriculum implementation. International Journal of Academic Research for Humanities, 4(3), 209–218. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13741847

Nyhan, B., & Reifler, J. (2023). Media literacy and resistance to misinformation. Journal of Communication, 73(1), 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqac042

Perchtold-Stefan, C., Rominger, C., Ceh, S., Sattler, K., Veit, S.-V., & Fink, A. (2025). Out of the dark: Psychological perspectives on people’s fascination with true crime. British Journal of Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.70038

Pickett, J. T., Chiricos, T., & Golden, K. M. (2022). Crime news and punitive attitudes. Criminology, 60(2), 233–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12308

Rafiq-uz-Zaman, M., Khalid, N., Faridi, M. Z., & Khan, Z. A. (2024). Smog mitigation and climate resilience in Pakistan: A policy-centric review of strategies and challenges. Social Sciences Spectrum, 3(4), 302–317. https://doi.org/10.71085/sss.03.04.175

Riddle, K., & Weaver, A. J. (2023). Violent media exposure and perceived vulnerability. Media Psychology, 26(2), 171–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2022.2073405

Romer, D., Jamieson, P. E., & Aday, S. (2022). Media exposure and fear of crime. Communication Research, 49(5), 653–677. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219873514

Şahinoğlu, B., Saygılı, N., Muhtaroğulları, A., & Sinal, A. (2024). Implications of media reports of crime for public trust and social support: A conceptual analysis of individuals’ psychological wellbeing. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), Article 329. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02848-2

Scrivner, C., Johnson, J. A., & Kjellgren, A. (2022). Why people seek threatening media. Psychology of Popular Media, 11(4), 429–441. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000361

Segura Cuenca, M. C., & Erades Pérez, N. (2025). The role of social media as a source of information and perception of insecurity. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research, 31, 377–398. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10610-025-09628-x

Soroka, S., Fournier, P., & Nir, L. (2022). Emotional reactions to negative news. Journal of Politics, 84(1), 254–268. https://doi.org/10.1086/714234

Tal-Or, N., Cohen, J., Tsfati, Y., & Gunther, A. C. (2023). Perceived media influence and emotional processing. Communication Research, 50(3), 321–345. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221082947

Till, B., Arendt, F., & Niederkrotenthaler, T. (2021). The relationship between crime-related television viewing and perceptions of the death penalty: Results of a large cross-sectional survey study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 715657. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.715657

Vicary, A. M., & Fraley, R. C. (2022). Why people love true crime. Personality and Individual Differences, 184, Article 111224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111224

Vosoughi, S., Roy, D., & Aral, S. (2018). The spread of true and false news online. Science, 359(6380), 1146–1151. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap9559

Witmer, S. (2024). True crime podcasting as participatory journalism: A digital ethnography of collaborative case solving. Journalism and Media, 5(4), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5040104

Wolfsfeld, G., Segev, E., & Sheafer, T. (2022). Emotionalization of news and political trust. Political Communication, 39(2), 206–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2021.1955296

Yeo, S. K., Su, L. Y.-F., & McKasy, M. (2023). Online crime communities and public judgment. New Media & Society, 25(10), 2690–2710. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221077412

Zhou, S., & Moy, P. (2023). News exposure and institutional confidence. Journal of Communication, 73(2), 214–236. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqad004

Zillmann, D., & Bryant, J. (2022). Affective responses to violent news. Media Psychology Review, 16(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.1976793