Testing “racial fetish” in health prevention messages: Chinese evaluation of ethnicity-(in)congruent messages as a function of out-group favoritism

ABSTRACT

Previous research argues that readers should prefer messages featuring their own ethnicity. However, in China, messages featuring white people are common. We investigate Chinese participants evaluation of ethnicity-(in)congruent messages to understand why communication practices diverge from theoretical expectations. Two normative health prevention messages, tested in a quasi-experimental design, were constructed to be ethnically (in)congruent. The results contradict the popular Chinese practice of ethnicity-incongruent messages; Chinese participants generally prefer ethnicity-congruent messages. However, participants reporting higher out-group favoritism, ethnicity-incongruent messages were evaluated more positively. We discuss in/out-group identification in evaluation of ethnicity-featuring messages and conclude with implications for communication practices in China.

KEYWORDS:

• Ethnic-targeted messages
• health prevention messages
• message quality
• out-group favoritism
• China

Notes on contributors

Yadong Ji (M.A., Zhejiang University, 2014) is a doctoral candidate in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University.

Benjamin R. Bates (Ph.D., Univesrity of Georiga, 2003) is the Barbara Geralds Schoonover Professor of Health Communication at Ohio University.