The Influence of Exposure to Depictions of Race and Crime in TV News on Viewer’s Social Judgments

This two-study experimental design utilizes a group-based priming framework to investigate the relationship between exposure to television news portrayals that intersect race with violent crime and viewers’ real-world racial judgments. Results from Study 1 reveal that both the gender of the viewer and the race of the TV news suspect influence subsequent judgments, including attributions about the perpetrator and victim. Findings from Study 2 offer somewhat consistent results, additionally indicating that the race of the depicted suspect has a significant effect on attitudes toward Blacks in greater society, beyond the mediated context.