Media use habits, negative encounters with the police, and perceptions of the police: the mainstreaming hypothesis versus the resonance hypothesis

ABSTRACT

Media researchers have long considered the extent to which the media influence perceptions of the police. More recently, scholars have encouraged more specific investigations to determine if media effects can vary depending on the audience’s characteristics. The present article contributes to and extends this line of research by employing unique measures of the media considering various modes of media and content and by examining whether individual experiences condition media effects on perceptions of the police. Using a sample of college students from Southwestern Pennsylvania, results show that there are significant interaction effects between some media measures and audience characteristics, highlighting that it is critical to consider individual characteristics and experiences in understanding media effects on perceptions of the police. Our findings provide mixed support for both of the mainstreaming hypothesis and the resonance hypothesis.

KEYWORDS:

• Media
• perceptions of police
• cultivation theory
• mainstreaming hypothesis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The university where this sample was drawn limits registration within Criminology and Criminal Justice courses to students who have declared Criminology as their major course of study or have declared a related minor that is based upon a concentration of criminology and criminal justice courses. These enrollment limitations led to the decision to sample CJ and non-CJ courses differently.

2. The authors would like to thank and credit an anonymous reviewer for this point.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jaeyong Choi

Jaeyong Choi, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Security Studies and Criminal Justice at Angelo State University. His research interests include criminological theory, police legitimacy, media and criminal justice, and fear of crime.

Daniel R. Lee

Daniel R. Lee received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland College Park. He is currently is a professor of criminology at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.