Charisse Corsbie-Massay (PhD student, USC Social Psychology) received Bachelors degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Brain and Cognitive Science and Comparative Media Studies. She also earned a Masters in Critical Studies from the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California, where she is currently pursuing a PhD in social psychology. Her research interests include the effect of mass media, and television in particular, on interpersonal relations. Her published work ranges from neurological processing of attractiveness to cognitively efficient multimedia interfaces. She is currently investigating the effect of media exclusion on the viewer’s self-concept and relationship to the larger community.
Effects of Media Exclusion: Where are all the People of Color on Friends?
Abstract: The effects of media exclusion are discussed extensively among communications and critical studies scholars, but the topic has received limited attention from social psychologists. This experiment utilizes a promotional video for an affiliated group (i.e., university) that excludes individuals of a subject’s race and investigates the emotional effects on excluded individuals. This research integrates the theories of Social Exclusion, which states that being excluded from a social group causes a decrease in self-esteem, belonging, and control, and Symbolic Annihilation, which states that individuals not represented in the media may suffer from low self-esteem and reduced feelings of belongingness. Undergraduates watched a university promotional video wherein their racial group was either included or excluded and responded to measures of anger, arousal, self-esteem, belongingness, and group affiliation. Racially excluded Caucasian subjects exhibited greater belongingness to the university, while subjects of color (Asian/Hispanic) demonstrated lower belongingness when excluded (p=.038). Furthermore, racially excluded women experienced an increase in importance of the group to personal identity, while racially excluded men experienced a decrease (p=.006), thus replicating the gender interactions found in prior Social Exclusion research. While much of the theory relating to media exclusion has focused on underrepresented minority groups, the current experiment highlights a significant difference in the reactions of Caucasians and individuals of color to the exclusion of their racial group in a visual medium. As the dominant group in American culture, Caucasians may process media exclusion differently, leading to a hyper-identification with the in-group and reparative increases in self-esteem.