Exposure to TV Portrayals of Racial Minorities Leads to Stereotyping

An article recently published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly reports that exposure to positive television portrayals of Asian Americans as “model” minorities leads not only to positive stereotyping of Asian Americans, but also to negative stereotyping of African Americans.

The article was authored by Francis Dalisay and Alex Tan, researchers from the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University.

In their study, Dalisay and Tan showed white college students television clips depicting Asian Americans as hard-working, successful, intelligent, articulate and highly motivated to succeed. A comparable group watched television clips portraying Asian Americans as violent, engaged in crime and consuming drugs and alcohol. A third group saw a placebo of video clips of wild animals in their natural habitat. The students then filled out a questionnaire asking them about their opinions on current issues and perceptions of racial groups including Asian Americans and African Americans. Students who saw the positive video clips described Asian Americans in real life more positively, as intelligent, hard-working, reliable and trustworthy, compared to students who saw the placebo or negative video clips. Also, students who saw positive portrayals of Asian Americans described African Americans more negatively, as violent, aggressive, prone to crime and lazy, compared to the other audience groups.

Dalisay and Tan explained these results as a “contrast effect.” If one minority (Asian Americans) can be successful and conform to norms accepted by the dominant culture (whites), then other minorities (African Americans) should also be able to do so. This tendency to compare groups triggered biases against African Americans, leading to negative stereotypes.

The researchers also confirmed results from other studies showing that negative television portrayals can lead to negative stereotyping. Students who saw negative portrayals of Asian Americans characterized real-life Asian Americans more negatively as violent, immoral, greedy, and angry.

The researchers conclude that positive television portrayals of any racial group can be harmful to audience perceptions of other racial groups. They recommend that television portrayals of minority racial groups should attempt to capture the “full range of human experiences,” reflecting the range of portrayals that exist for dominant groups such as white Americans.

To read more: Francis Dalisay and Alex Tan, “Assimilation and Contrast Effects in the Priming of Asian American and African American Stereotypes through TV Exposure” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol. 86, 7-22.

Contact: Francis Dalisay, PhD Candidate, 206-853-5767, francis.dalisay@email.wsu.edu, The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-2250

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