Affective Reactions of African American Students to Stereotypical and Counterstereotypical Images of Blacks in the Media

Abstract

This study examined the reactions of Black students at a predominantly White college to Black television characters in popular television situation comedies. Black students were exposed to short video clips from popular television programs depicting Blacks behaving stereotypically or counterstereotypically in the presence of White characters or in the presence of Black characters. Perceivers’ level of anxiety was examined. Results revealed that Black participants exposed to a Black character behaving counterstereotypically in the presence of Whites reported feeling more anxious, compared to Black participants exposed to a Black character behaving stereotypically in the presence of Whites. This result is discussed in terms of the potential susceptibility of Black students at predominantly White colleges to both stereotypical and counterstereotypical representations of Blacks.