The role of the media in influencing social perceptions of racial relations in Brazil

Posted in Brazil, Caribbean/Latin America, Communications/Media Studies, Dissertations, Identity Development/Psychology, Media Archive, Social Science on 2011-12-15 22:44Z by Steven

The role of the media in influencing social perceptions of racial relations in Brazil

Wayne State University
2006
126 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3243076
ISBN: 9780542982705

Gildasio Mendes Dos Santos

Based on the tenets of Social Identity Theory (SIT), Self-Categorization Theory (SDT), Cross-Group Relations (CGR) and Inter-Group Contact (IGC), this study examined how media programs depiction of Blacks may alter Whites and Morenos1 self-perceptions of racial/ethnic relations. This exposure may increase or decrease Whites and Morenos prejudice against Blacks and, because of the negative depiction of the Blacks in the media, the likelihood that Morenos will see themselves as more similar to Whites than with Blacks. The factorial design format of the experiment was 2 x 2. Path analytic procedures were employed to test the extent to which the data were consistent with the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Participants were 260 graduate students from a Brazilian Central University (UCDB), who were male and female, Whites and Morenos, aged 18 to 30, enrolled in classes in the morning and evening, and representing low, middle and high economic classes.

The hypothesis tested suggested that video (induction) has a statistically significant effect on White attitudes towards Blacks, and the path model accounts for the variance in the relationship between video portrayal, Attitudes Towards Blacks (ATB), Whites/Morenos Similarities (WMS), and Moreno Single and Dual Identity (MSDI). Implications for the study of the effect of television on racial relations are discussed.

1 Moreno is a term for a mixed-race Brazilian. In practice, the word refers primarily to Brazilians of mixed Black and White race (Wikipedia).

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