Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Prejudice Formation and Stereotype Internalization from Media: A Deliberative Moral Judgment Perspective

Ellithorpe, Morgan
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428072750

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Communication.
Media are a powerful societal entity, and their portrayals of social groups in a stereotypical and prejudiced manner is a serious issue in need of study. One framework for understanding the influence of prejudice and stereotypes presented in the media is moral judgments. However, moral judgments in media have most often been studied with a spontaneous processing frame and very little attention has been paid to deliberation about moral issues in the media. Three experiments examine deliberative moral judgments about prejudice and stereotyping in the media, and how those judgments translate to internalization of prejudice and stereotypes to influence attitudes and behaviors. The first experiment presented participants with audiovisual scenarios in which a fictional outgroup is derogated, or in which an ingroup is bolstered, or a no message control condition. In addition, the extent that participants were encouraged to deliberate on the message was manipulated. The results of Experiment 1 suggest that deliberation is an important aspect of moral judgments about prejudice and stereotyping, and moral judgments can go on to influence whether the prejudice and stereotypes to which one is exposed is internalized. Compared to a control group who answered judgment and stereotype questions based solely on photographs of the group member, participants who were exposed to either outgroup derogating or ingroup bolstering gave more positive moral judgments about the main actor the more they deliberated about the content. The moral judgments of participants who were exposed to outgroup derogation or an ingroup bolstering scenario then predicted stereotype internalization and behavior. Experiment 2 replicated the first, but using a more externally valid media-based manipulation of deliberation, using formal features of medium to influence participants’ ability to deliberate. Experiment 2 also varied whether the ingroup characters were unanimous in their stereotyping or if there was dissent, focusing on outgroup derogation. The results of Experiment 2 mirrored Experiment 1, where participants exposed to outgroup derogation gave more positive moral judgments about the main actor the more they deliberated about the content, as well as about the other human character who was more directly involved in the stereotyping. Interestingly, these positive moral judgments of stereotypers predicted lower stereotype internalization and perpetuation. The third experiment tested moral license as a possible explanation of the results of the first two experiments. Results indicated that moral license may play a role in the relationship between moral judgments and stereotype internalization, where people who had the opportunity to affirm their non-prejudice were more likely to judge the ingroup stereotypers positively, and in this case positive moral judgments were associated with more stereotype internalization. The three experiments together inform our understanding of how media narratives can influence moral judgments about prejudice and stereotyping, and how that may in turn influence discriminatory behaviors.
David Ewoldsen (Advisor)
Brad Bushman (Committee Member)
Nancy Rhodes (Committee Member)
Mary Beth Oliver (Committee Member)
149 p.
Communication
stereotypes; media effects; morality; deliberation

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ellithorpe, M. (2015). Prejudice Formation and Stereotype Internalization from Media: A Deliberative Moral Judgment Perspective [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428072750

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ellithorpe, Morgan. Prejudice Formation and Stereotype Internalization from Media: A Deliberative Moral Judgment Perspective. 2015. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428072750.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ellithorpe, Morgan. "Prejudice Formation and Stereotype Internalization from Media: A Deliberative Moral Judgment Perspective." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1428072750

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1428072750
1,401
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.