Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: According to the mental models approach to media effects, Americans with no French contact are more likely to believe media display a more accurate picture of the French culture than in reality. Forty undergraduate students participated in a study to test the following hypotheses: (1) Viewers without French contact will accept more stereotypical statements than viewers with French contact (2) Viewers with French contact will have a longer response latency when assessing the truth value of stereotypical statements. Twenty participants had previous knowledge or experience of French culture and 20 did not. The participants watched a film clip, answered questionnaires, and completed a reaction time test and Q-sort. The Q-sort data was analyzed with a principal components factor analysis and the results indicate partial support of contact influencing stereotype acceptance.
Author: Lauren Ferber
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1528637920