Examining the Effects of Media-Generated Stereotypes on Receivers’ Trust and Attitude in Pakistan. Moderating Influence of Ethnicity and Gender

Abstract

There is a long-standing debate about the effects of media-generated stereotypes on receivers’ trust and attitude. However, there is insufficient consensus about their influence on the media receiver’s ecological perspective in determining their extent of trust and attitudes. Drawing an analogy from Differential Susceptibility to Media Effect Model (hereafter DSMM) notion that media effects are conditional and are contingent on differential-susceptibility, this study examines the influence of dispositional and social susceptibility to media. To do so, the study validates the influence of media user’s gender (dispositional susceptibility) and ethnicity (social susceptibility) in determining the outcomes of media-generated stereotypes, media trust (MT), and attitude towards media organization (AO). The survey method has been employed to collect data through a self-administered questionnaire from 1061 university students in public sector institutions in Pakistan. The results provide empirical evidence that media-generated stereotypes are a substantially negative predictor of media trust and attitudes towards the media organization. The results also validate that the influence of the stereotyping manifested by the receiver’s ecological perspective such as ethnicity and gender are crucial determinants of the receiver’s trust and attitudes. Managerially, the study urges that journalistic practices must be more ethnoculturally inclusive, to cope with the contemporary media landscape.

Contemporary Media's Impact on Society and Culture

“…The emergence of "Korean Drama Fever" has triggered widespread attention from academics [13]. According to Prof. Jiang Shuzhuo from the College of Arts and Letters of Jinan University, the popularity of Korean dramas can be attributed to the Korean government's strong support and encouragement of the cultural industry, a policy that has made Korean dramas not only retain the essence of traditional culture, but also add elements of modern culture, thus making Korean dramas Asia's most popular form of culture and art [14][15][16]. Obviously, whether it is American or Korean dramas, they are using culture as the basis to promote their values and ideas to the world.…”

Cross-Cultural Models in International Advertising and Consumer Behavior Research

“…Despite, these interesting findings, the marketing models remain detached from the cultural explanations. Steam of literature affirmed that an individual's perceptions of the advertising message must be consistent with their perceptions of their cultural norms to result in a positive intention [18], [19]. However, the notion of the norm in several marketing theories such as the theory of planned behavior TPB refers to the pressure that individual perceive from important others (i.e.…”