Black and White Viewers' Perception and Recall of Occupational Characters on Television

Abstract

The A. examines the differences in how Black and White viewers process messages based on the race of television characters representing five occupations. Black and White male viewers were exposed to either five Black or five White male television characters representing five different occupations (i.e., lawyer, doctor, professor, engineer, and business student). Findings from eighty one male Black and White college students suggest that Black viewers have better recall of Black occupational characters on television than they do White occupational characters on television. Unexpectedly, the results show evidence that both Black and White viewers' perceptions of occupational characters were positively affected by the race of the Black character. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.