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Who is the victim here?

The psychological effects of overrepresenting White victims and Black perpetrators on television news

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, tldixon{at}uiuc.edu

Participants were exposed to a crime story in a 3 (Victim Race — Black, White, or Unidentified) x 3 (Perpetrator Race — Black, White, or Unidentified) x 2 (Stereotype Endorsement — High, Low) factorial design. Afterwards, participants were asked whether they: a) viewed the featured perpetrator as threatening; b) endorsed punitive crime policies; and c) believed a subsequently described suspect was culpable for his offense. Results revealed that stereotype endorsers were more likely than stereotype rejecters to find the suspect most threatening when he was depicted as African American or was left unidentified. In addition, stereotype endorsers were more likely than rejecters to endorse punitive crime policy. Finally, participants were most likely to find a subsequent suspect culpable after viewing a news story containing a White victim and Black perpetrator. The reverse was true when the news story featured a Black perpetrator and Black victim. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.

Key Words: African Americans • Blacks • priming • race • victimization

Journalism, Vol. 9, No. 5, 582-605 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1464884908094160


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