Social Identity Threat in Response to Stereotypic Film Portrayals: Effects on Self‐Conscious Emotion and Implicit Ingroup Attitudes

Abstract

Disadvantaged ethnic groups are often portrayed stereotypically in film, but little is known about how such portrayals affect members of those groups. Two experiments examined the affective and attitudinal reactions of Mexican and European Americans to stereotypic film clips of Latinos. Results of Study 1 revealed that stereotypic films cue negative affect among Mexican Americans, regardless of the realism of the portrayals. In Study 2, both Mexican and European Americans felt more self‐conscious when another ingroup member openly laughed at negative Latino stereotypes in a comedy. Across both studies, the importance of ethnic identity exacerbated negative reactions to stereotypic clips and predicted somewhat more negative implicit group attitudes among Mexican Americans. In contrast, group pride mitigated affective costs and predicted greater enjoyment of stereotypical film clips among European Americans. The implications for the role of mass media in creating social identity threat for disadvantaged ethnic groups are discussed.

Muslim Americans’ Responses to Social Identity Threats: Effects of Media Representations and Experiences of Discrimination

“…This is significant considering that when minorities are represented in media they are either under represented or negatively represented (Mastro, 2009). Previous research reveals that negative media representations have detrimental consequences on minorities' self-esteem and negative emotional responses (e.g., Schmader et al, 2015). Results from the present study reveal that negative media messages may also affect intergroup relations such as desire to avoid majority members.…”

“…A consideration of the minority members' perspective is important as it helps to provide a more complete understanding of the role of media in intergroup relations. The limited work that does exist in this domain tends to focus on minority members' self and group perceptions rather than identity management strategies that can restore a positive view of the threatened identity (e.g., Abrams & Giles, 2007;Banjo, 2013;Ortiz & Behm-Morawitz, 2015;Rivadeneyra et al, 2007;Schmader et al, 2015). For example, Banjo (2013) found that African Americans were especially concerned about Black media stereotypes influencing Whites' opinion of African Americans when they watched the movie with a majority White, relative to Black, audience.…”

“…Similarly, exposure to English-language television among Latino Americans was associated with perceptions of discrimination against Latinos (Ortiz & Behm-Morawitz, 2015). Schmader et al (2015) discovered that Mexican Americans who were exposed to stereotypic film portrayals of their ethnic group displayed more negative emotional responses (e.g., shame, guilt, anger) and lower self-esteem compared to those who did not watch such films.…”

“…Similarly, studies exploring the effects of media stereotypes on minorities (see details below) highlight the importance of ethnic and racial identity as a moderator. 1 Specifically, some studies suggest that the effects of media stereotypes on minorities' self-concepts are especially damaging for those who highly identify with their ethnic and racial identity (Rivadeneyra, Ward, & Gordon, 2007;Schmader, Block, & Lickel, 2015). Given the importance of ingroup identification identified by previous research we assessed and tested for ingroup identification effects in the present experiment.…”

Negative Stereotypical Portrayals of Muslims in Right-Wing Populist Campaigns: Perceived Discrimination, Social Identity Threats, and Hostility Among Young Muslim Adults

“…Research on media effects suggests that negative, stereotypical portrayals of one's own group represent threats to the self‐esteem of racial or ethnic (Banjo, ; Fryberg, Markus, Oyserman, & Stone, ; Fujioka, ; Martins & Harrison, ; Schmader, Block, & Lickel, ) and religious (Ibrahim & Abdel Halim, ; Saleem & Ramasubramanian, ) minority audiences. Muslim minority members may be particularly vulnerable to negative media representations, as they frequently face discrimination in Western societies (Martinovic & Verkuyten, ; Sirin et al, ) and are often portrayed in negative and stereotypical ways in the mainstream media (e.g., Alsultany, ; Dixon & Williams, ; Saleem & Anderson, ; Saleem, Prot, Anderson, & Lemieux, ; Saleem, Yang, & Ramasubramanian, ).…”