Intergroup Contact,Media Exposure,and Racial Attitudes |
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| Abstract: | The present investigation uses intergroup contact and media systems’ dependency theories to illuminate the relative significance of various sources of information in shaping Caucasian-American attitudes toward African-Americans. It uses empirical data from an exploratory survey of college students to build a chain of related variables that link primary sources of information (face-to-face versus mediated) to stereotypical beliefs, perceived internal causal attributions for African-Americans’ failures, and prejudicial feelings toward African-Americans. Results suggest that face-to-face sources of racial/ethnic out-group information are more effective than mediated sources in prejudice reduction. The discussion includes theoretical and practical implications of the findings. |
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| Keywords: | Intergroup Contact Media Effects Contact Hypothesis Racial Stereotypes Intercultural Communication |
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