Previous research largely supports the notion that mediated contact and engagement with minority characters can improve viewers’ real-life minority attitudes. However, it is unclear to what extent different forms of media engagement such as parasocial friendship and wishful identification are linked to attitudes, and whether deep-level similarities affect engagement with minority characters. Deep-level similarities refer to viewers’ perception of shared personality traits, attitudes, and social experiences with characters. In a cross-sectional survey, we examine (1) to what extent parasocial friendship and wishful identification with an LGBTQ character are each associated with viewers’ prejudicial attitudes toward the LGBTQ community, and (2) to what extent perceived deep-level similarities of an LGBTQ character are related to viewers’ parasocial friendship and wishful identification felt for the LGBTQ character. Based on a structural equation model using a sample of U.S. residents (n = 247), it may be concluded that the deep-level similarities of LGBTQ characters have both direct and indirect associations with LGTBQ prejudice, mediated by wishful identification.
MULTIFILE
The corporate goal of striving for stockholder value meets considerable resistance due to various misunderstandings and prejudices. The goal of this contribution is to clear up some of those misperceptions.
DOCUMENT
In recent years, the fight against terrorism and political violence has focused more on anticipating the threats that they pose. Therefore, early detection of ideas by local professionals has become an important part of the preventive approach in countering radicalization. Frontline workers who operate in the arteries of society are encouraged to identify processes toward violent behavior at an early stage. To date, however, little is known about how these professionals take on this screening task at their own discretion. Research from the Netherlands suggests that subjective assessment appears to exist. In this article, we argue that the absence of a clear norm for preliminary judgments affects prejudice or administrative arbitrariness, which may cause side effects due to unjustified profiling.
DOCUMENT
