In the APSA Public Scholarship Program, graduate students in political science produce summaries of new research in the American Political Science Review. This piece, written by Jack Wippell, covers the new article by Marcel F. Roman and Jack Thompson, “Fickle Prosociality: How Violence against LGBTQ+ People Motivates Prosocial Mass Attitudes toward LGBTQ+ Group Members.”
Does exposure to violence against marginalized groups lead to lasting changes in public attitudes? A recent study by Marcel F. Roman and Jack Thompson investigates this question in the context of violence targeting LGBTQ+ individuals. Their research examines how high-profile attacks against LGBTQ+ people influence mass attitudes, particularly whether these events foster increased support for LGBTQ+ rights. They find that while such violence can trigger short-term shifts in prosocial attitudes, these effects tend to fade once the event loses public and media attention.
Specifically, the study introduces the Fickle Prosocial Violence Response (FPVR) Model, which suggests that public attitudes toward marginalized groups can shift in response to targeted violence¾but only under specific conditions. For attitudes to change, the violence must be highly visible, perceived as illegitimate, and framed sympathetically by media and political elites. When these factors align, the public may adopt more prosocial attitudes, such as increased support for LGBTQ+ rights or reductions in negative stereotypes. However, the authors argue that such changes are unstable. Once media attention shifts elsewhere, and societal pressures return to the status quo, public attitudes will tend to revert.
To test this theory, the researchers analyzed public reactions to three major incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ violence. The first was the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, where a gunman killed 49 people at an LGBTQ+ club in Orlando. The second was the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student in Wyoming whose killing became a rallying point for LGBTQ+ rights activism. The third was the 2022 Club Q shooting, an attack at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado. These cases were chosen because they varied in media coverage, visibility, and political response, allowing the authors to examine how these factors influence attitude shifts.
The study relied on several surveys conducted before and after these violent events to measure shifts in attitudes toward LGBTQ+ individuals. Here, the researchers used surveys to compare attitudes just before and after an attack. This method allowed them to isolate the impact of these violent incidents on public opinion. Additionally, they examined how much attention these attacks received in the press and how they were framed.
“This suggests that not all acts of violence against marginalized groups elicit the same level of public response, and the ability of an event to drive social change depends in part on how widely it is discussed and framed.”Their findings generally show in the wake of high-profile violence, public support for LGBTQ+ rights increased. After the Pulse shooting, for example, support for same-sex marriage rose significantly, and measures of anti-gay bias dropped. Similarly, following Matthew Shepard’s murder, fewer people described homosexuality as “morally wrong.” However, these shifts in attitudes were not long-lasting. The increase in support for same-sex marriage after Pulse disappeared within two months, and the decline in moral condemnation of homosexuality following Shepard’s murder was gone within three years.
The study also highlights the crucial role of media coverage and public visibility in shaping responses. The Pulse and Shepard attacks both received extensive news coverage, which contributed to the observed shifts in public opinion. By contrast, the Club Q shooting failed to generate a significant change in attitudes. Despite being another mass killing targeting LGBTQ+ individuals, it received less sustained media attention and did not prompt a national conversation about anti-LGBTQ+ violence. This suggests that not all acts of violence against marginalized groups elicit the same level of public response, and the ability of an event to drive social change depends in part on how widely it is discussed and framed.
The study’s findings have important implications for understanding how societies respond to acts of violence against marginalized groups. While high-profile violent events can temporarily increase public sympathy and support for LGBTQ+ rights, these shifts seem unlikely to translate into long-term changes. Outrage alone may not be enough for meaningful progress in LGBTQ+ rights. Instead, lasting change likely requires sustained advocacy, legal protections, and broader cultural shifts that keep these issues visible beyond moments of crisis.
- Jack Wippell is a PhD Student in the Department of Sociology at The Ohio State University. His research interests cover political sociology, social movements, and culture, and his current focus is on the emergence, spread and mobilization of far-right extremism across the United States and Europe. He also has interests at the intersection of computational and qualitative methodologies.
- ROMAN, MARCEL F., and JACK THOMPSON. 2024. “Fickle Prosociality: How Violence against LGBTQ+ People Motivates Prosocial Mass Attitudes toward LGBTQ+ Group Members.” American Political Science Review, 1–19.
- About the APSA Public Scholarship Program.