Exposure to Television Portrayals of Latinos: The Implications of Aversive Racism and Social Identity Theory

Abstract

Although research suggests that manifestations of blatant racism are on the decline, findings additionally demonstrate that subtle racism remains prevalent when contexts provide sufficient ambiguity for the expressions to go unnoticed. Notably, studies examining these outcomes have typically been confined to intergroup contexts, despite the fact that mediated contact may yield parallel responses. The present investigation examines this relationship by applying aversive racism and social identity theory assumptions to assess the influence of exposure to television depictions of Latinos, on White viewers’ judgments. Results cautiously reveal that racial identification and media ambiguity affect both viewers’ evaluations of target racial/ethnic out‐group members as well as in‐group esteem.

Gender and Race Representation in Casual Games

“…Academics have claimed that visual media influences social identity formation (Mastro et al 2008), gender stereotypes (Bandura 2002), and viewers' perception of reality (Gerbner et al 1994). Bandura's (1977) explanation of media effects through observational learning, a key construct of social learning theory, is the theoretical rationale for our study.…”

Broadcasting Sharia: American TV News' Illustration of Social Identity and the Emergence of a Threat

“…The author described media as a "symbolic environment through which the process of in-group-out-group differentiation can be initiated" (p. 100) and illustrated this point by describing negative media portrayals of members of ethnic minority groups that associate them with criminal activities. Furthermore, SIT has been used to illustrate media-influenced in-group, out-group relationships in regard to students' health-related behaviors (Duck, Hogg, & Terry, 1999), television gratification based on age-related groups (Harwood, 1999), political identities in determining perceptions of an election (Duck, Terry, & Hogg, 1998), and racebased decision making (Mastro, Behm-Morawitz, & Kopacz, 2008). Slater (2007) also argued that in-group identification, particularly religious identification, leads to individuals' selection of media content, which may, of course, encourage in-group-based media creation.…”

Competing Separately, Medaling Equally: Racial Depictions of Athletes in NBC's Primetime Broadcast of the 2012 London Olympic Games

“…Without question, the media hold some power in regard to whether racism, biases, and conceptions of difference are inflamed or diminished (see Mastro, Behm-Morawitz, & Kopacz, 2008) and ample evidence has existed in prior decades to warrant the belief that some media outlets are "calling the Downloaded by [The University of Manchester Library] at 10:20 12 October 2014 plays in Black and White" (Jackson, 1989, p. A30). Still, the one portion of sports media that tends to elevate identity-oriented even-handedness has typically been the Olympics.…”