Media and Group Representations

Abstract

Research examining the influence of media exposure on audience members has long revealed that both the frequency and the nature of messages play a role in determining the outcomes of exposure. Consequently, documenting the manner in which different groups are represented in the media (alongside the rate of these depictions) is critical to understanding the possible implications for consumers, as exposure may be associated with the formation and application of group‐based cognitions (→ Attitudes, Values, and Beliefs, Media Effects on; Media and Perceptions of Reality).