Mediated Intergroup Contact: Concept Explication, Synthesis, and Application

Abstract

This article had an overarching goal of paving a foundation for the scholarship on intergroup contact in the field of media research. This goal was approached from three different directions: concept explication, synthesis, and application. First, selective reviews of literature on intergroup contact research and media effects research were conducted to identify a term that can best represent existing terminology on intergroup contact via media consumption and elaborate on its definition. A synthesis of intergroup contact literature and existing studies of mediated intergroup contact revealed potential moderators and mediators of mediated contact effect. Last, current practices of media production and consumption in the United States were analyzed through the lens of intergroup contact to provide an assessment of the current state of mediated contact. Based on these reviews and syntheses, suggestions for future research and practice were made.

Notes

¹Although Bryant and Davies (2006) also speculated that mere exposure to mediated characters would increase liking of those characters (p. 25), they noted that no existing research addressed the question thus far.

²This is a general statement, and thus there can be exceptions. For example, first-person perspective sitcoms such as Everybody Hates Chris can contain much more self-disclosure than most dramas.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sung-Yeon Park

Sung-Yeon Park (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004) is an Associate Professor in the School of Media & Communication at Bowling Green State University. Her research interests include media effects on perceptions of self and others and audience perceptions of media influence.