Srividya Ramasubramanian

Media-based Strategies to Reduce Racial Stereotypes Activated by News Stories:

This study focuses on the role of media in facilitating and inhibiting the accessibility of stereotypes primed by race-related news stories. Specifically, it examines experimentally the effects of two strategies for reducing stereotype accessibility: an audience-centered approach that explicitly instructs audiences to be critical media consumers, a goal of media literacy training; and a message-centered approach using stereo-type-disconfirming, counter-stereotypical news stories. Participants viewed either a literacy or control video before reading stereotypical or counter-stereotypical news stories about African Americans or Asian Indians. Implicit stereotypes were measured using response latencies to hostile and benevolent stereotypical words in a lexical decision task. Results suggest that a combination of audience-centered and message-centered approaches may reduce racial stereotypes activated by news stories.

Activating and Suppressing Hostile and Benevolent Racism: Evidence for Comparative Media Stereotyping

This research examines the role of media literacy training and counter-stereotypical news stories in prejudice reduction. Research participants read either stereotypical or counter-stereotypical news stories after exposure to a media literacy video or a control video. After this, they completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire that included Likert-type scales and feeling-thermometer ratings about their feelings toward African Americans, Asian-Indians, and Caucasian-Americans. The findings reveal that hostile prejudice is more likely to be expressed toward African-Americans and benevolent prejudice is more likely to be expressed toward Asian-Indians. As predicted, counter-stereotypical news stories as compared to stereotypical news stories decrease prejudice toward Asian-Indians. Contrary to expectations, the media literacy video seems to prime prejudices rather than suppress them. Interestingly, news stories about Asian-Indians increase hostility toward African-Americans. These comparative stereotyping are explained using modern racist beliefs and model minority stereotypes.

The Impact of Stereotypical Versus Counterstereotypical Media Exemplars on Racial Attitudes, Causal Attributions, and Support for Affirmative Action

This study examines how exposure to media characters of color shapes viewers’ opinions of race-targeted policies. Exemplar-based information processing, attribution theory, and heuristic policy decision-making formed the theoretical foundation for the study. A 2 × 2 factorial experiment (N = 363) exposed participants to stereotypical or counterstereotypical exemplars representing the in-group (Whites) and the out-group (Blacks). The experiment revealed that exposure to stereotypical African American media characters compared to exposure to counter-stereotypical ones influenced real-world beliefs of African American stereotypes, internal attributions for perceived failures of this out-group, prejudicial feelings toward this out-group, and lack of support for pro-minority affirmative action policies. A structural model established “internal attributions for out-group failures” as a crucial mediator. Implications for entertainment studies and political communication are discussed.

A Content Analysis of the Portrayal of India in Films Produced in the West

A content analysis of randomly selected films (N = 24) about India produced from 1930–2000 in the US or UK was undertaken to examine the social construction of “Indian-ness.” There were significant inter-group differences in depictions of Indian versus non-Indian scenes (N = 1016) and Indian versus non-Indian characters (N = 421) across several socio-cultural variables such as character role, occupation, poverty, religious practices, and pollution. Overall, India was consistently portrayed as backward, uncivilized, savage, and traditional. These patterns of stereotypical portrayals of India across films are discussed in the context of schema theory, social identity theory, and cultural colonization.

An Examination of African Americans' Stereotyped Perceptions of Fictional Media Characters

An extensive body of research has already illustrated the myriad ways in which media help form perceptions of various social groups. Theories such as cultivation, stereotype theory, social learning, and social identity theory all discuss how audiences can internalize what they see presented in the media, and project that information onto their beliefs about reality. However, many of these theories pay less attention to both negative and positive stereotypes, as well as how multiple social groups are perceived within the same context. Likewise, research has neglected thoroughly to examine the perceptions of African American media viewers regarding other marginalized social groups. This study examines the underlying dimensions of stereotypes by applying the stereotype content model (SCM) to African Americans’ perceptions of media representations of their own and other marginalized groups. The results of the study provided mixed support for the SCM; however, perceptions of African American characters were favorable.

Gender stereotypes and normative heterosexuality in matrimonial ads from globalizing India

Matrimonial ads serve as unobtrusive sites to observe the construction and perpetuation of normative heterosexuality through socio-cultural discourses. The current study focuses on gendered spousal expectations and sex role preferences in 1065 matrimonial ads from two popular newspapers in India. Gender differences in ad type, financial stability, physical attractiveness, fairness, slimness, personality traits, and occupational preferences were examined. Results found support for social exchange of mens financial stability for womens physical attractiveness, gender polarization in ideal spousal occupations, and the relative fluidity in gender identities of women as compared to men. A strong preference for fair and slim women was observed. Implications for sexual objectification of women and changing gender roles in globalizing India are discussed.

Exploring Implications of Perceived Media Reinforcement on Third-Person Perceptions:

This research explores the idea that when making estimates of media influence on the self and others, individuals often assume reinforcement of existing attitudes rather than assume that media content necessarily creates or changes attitudes. Consequently, perceptions of favorable attitudes on an issue should result in judgments that media strengthen favorable attitudes, and perceptions of unfavorable attitudes should result in judgments that media strengthen unfavorable attitudes. Two studies were conducted: a survey concerning attitudes toward affirmative action in higher education, and an experiment concerning responses to news coverage and responses to media violence. Support for perceived media reinforcement was obtained for both news content and, to a lesser extent, for media violence. Results are discussed in terms of providing a framework for interpreting third-person perceptions.

Latino Audiences, Racial/Ethnic Identification, and Responses to Stereotypical Comedy

Given the popularity of comedy, humor is an important avenue for examining the racial/ethnic stereotyping effects. Grounded in social identity theory, this study explores the effects of stereotypical comedy on Latino audiences. A 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to explore how Latino participants’ (N = 150) racial/ethnic identification level (high/low) and comedians’ race/ethnicity (Latino/White) influence evaluations of a target alleged offender (Latino/White) in subsequent scenarios. Findings revealed that participants rated the comedy more favorably when the comedian was Latino compared to when the comedian was White. Moreover, participants with high levels of racial/ethnic identification rated the comedy script as significantly more stereotypical and the White target alleged offender as significantly more culpable than the Latino alleged offender.

Roads Less Traveled Finding a Path to Using Complementary and Alternative Medicine

An increasing number of health seekers in the United States are looking outside conventional medicine to address their health needs. It is estimated that in the United States, 38% of adults use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Extant research characterizes CAM users as a unified homogeneous group, with little understanding of the differences among them in terms of attitudes toward body, wellness, disease, and pivotal aspects of their personal histories. In this article, we seek to better understand the nuances of who uses CAM and why, using the following questions: How do people communicate their life stories that explain their decision to use CAM? How do the life stories enable us to understand the similarities and differences among CAM users? Based on analysis of the narratives of 18 individuals, three clusters or types of CAM users emerged: natives, immigrants, and tourists. In an effort to push our analysis further, we theorized three dimensions that help to explain CAM users’ objectives, motives, and resultant sense of empowerment. Together, these dimensions comprise The Pathfinder Model of CAM Usage. The Pathfinder Model can be useful to clarify self-understanding among CAM users themselves, as well as for conventional and alternative practitioners, as they establish a working relationship and communicate with their patients during medical encounters. Understanding the path of the health seeker can help influence the quality of the relationship and the communicative strategies providers use to educate and influence.

Japanese Anime Heroines as Role Models for U.S. Youth: Wishful Identification, Parasocial Interaction, and Intercultural Entertainment Effects

Abstract This paper uses survey methods (N=385) to examine the underlying processes through which U.S. fans create meaningful relationships with Japanese media characters. Specifically, this study tests an integrated model linking character perceptions, wishful identification, and parasocial relationships in the context of fans of shōjo, a heroine-centric genre of Japanese anime. Results suggest that liking a heroines pro-social traits leads to greater wishful identification and more intense parasocial relationships with the heroine. Theoretical implications for reception studies and intercultural entertainment, and practical implications for role-modeling effects of positive female characters on young audiences are discussed.