Priming Mammies, Jezebels, and Other Controlling Images: An Examination of the Influence of Mediated Stereotypes on Perceptions of an African American Woman

Abstract

This study examines how mediated portrayals of African American women influence judgments of African American women in social situations. Participants (N = 182) observed a mammy, jezebel, or nonstereotypic image on video. Participants then observed a mock employment interview involving either an African American or White woman. Participants completed measures of implicit and explicit racial prejudice. As hypothesized, participants associated the African American interviewee more quickly with negative terms (e.g., aggressive) than with positive terms (e.g., sincere). Also as hypothesized, when evaluating the job interviewee, participants who observed the jezebel stereotype video and the African American female interviewee responded more quickly to jezebel-related terms (e.g., sexual) than positive, negative, and mammy (e.g., maternal) terms. These results call for an expansion of the boundaries used in stereotype research and closer investigation of how mediated imagery might influence person perception.