Influences of authoritarianism and portrayals of race on Caucasian viewers’ responses to reality‐based crime dramas

An experiment was conducted to examine the roles of authoritarianism and portrayals of race in Caucasian viewers’ responses to reality‐based crime dramas. Subjects viewed a segment from a reality‐based program that varied the race of the criminal suspect (African‐American, Caucasian). Subsequently, subjects indicated their enjoyment of the segment as well as their perceptions of the characters portrayed. Authoritarianism was associated with greater enjoyment of the crime video and more negative evaluations of the criminal suspects, but only if the criminal suspects were African‐American rather than Caucasian. Authoritarianism was also associated with more favorable evaluations of police officers.