Schemas as average conceptions: Skin tone, television news exposure, and culpability judgments

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

An experiment examined the extent to which race and skin tone of a perpetrator in a crime news story could influence subsequent culpability judgments of race unidentified suspects. There were no differences in culpability judgments between light news viewers exposed to a white, light-skinned, medium-skinned, or dark-skinned black perpetrator. However, heavy television news viewers exposed to a medium-skinned black perpetrator were more likely than heavy news viewers exposed to a white suspect to find an unambiguously guilty suspect culpable. Heavy news viewers exposed to either light-, medium-, or dark-skinned black suspects were more likely than heavy news viewers exposed to white suspects to find an ambiguously guilty suspect culpable.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)131-149
Number of pages19
JournalJournalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
Volume83
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication

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