'Training away stereotypes'
University of Missouri research shows that people trained to think in opposition to stereotypes are more receptive to advertising starring minority actors
2010-11-02
(Press-News.org) COLUMBIA, Mo. – It may seem difficult to change stereotypical thinking. Perceptions can be very important in forming an individual's attitudes. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that people conditioned to think in opposition to racial stereotypes are more receptive to people from minority groups starring in commercial advertising.
Saleem Alhabash, a doctoral candidate in the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
"This research shows that when people are trained to think in a non-stereotypical way, they will pay more attention to ads with black protégés," said Saleem Alhabash, a doctoral candidate in the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Alhabash conducted the research in the Psychological Research on Information and Media Effects (PRIME) Lab with Kevin Wise, a professor in the Missouri School of Journalism, and Mi Jahng, a doctoral candidate in the Missouri School of Journalism. The study used the "Stereotype Reduction Paradigm," previously studied by other social psychology researchers. Under the paradigm, 10 participants received stereotype affirmation training, while 10 received stereotype negation training. Participants were shown pictures of black and white people paired with stereotype-consistent and stereotype-violating attributes. In the stereotype affirmation condition, participants were instructed to note whenever the picture-attribute pair displayed a racial stereotype. Under negation, participants were instructed to note when they saw a picture-attribute pair inconsistent with common stereotypes.
Then, participants were shown a series of commercials with three advertisements featuring black actors and three advertisements featuring white actors. Researchers tracked various psychophysiological responses to viewing each commercial. Participants who had experienced stereotype negation training showed decreased heart rate, which is the physiological response indicating increased attention to advertising featuring black protégés while those in the stereotype-affirmation condition showed an increase in heart rate, showing decreased attention levels. Negation and attribution-conditioned participants showed little difference in physiological reaction to white advertising protégés, reflected in heart rate deceleration for both conditions.
The project was presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR) and was one of 16 projects to win a student poster award.
"Over the years, SPR has been welcoming of our work on how the mind processes media, but this award brings a whole new level of acceptance and validation to the science of media," said Paul Bolls, co-director of the PRIME Lab. "This is a great achievement for the School of Journalism, as well as the field of media psychology research."
The MU team's work beat out 250 projects for the award and is one of a very small number of media psychology projects ever to win an award at the conference.
INFORMATION: END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2010-11-02
GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms, may raise concerns of genes escaping from crops and having unknown effects on natural, wild species. But what is the real risk that traits associated with GMOs will actually migrate to and persist in their wild relatives? Interest in plant ecology, crop production and weed management led John Lindquist and his colleagues from the University of Nebraska and USDA-ARS to investigate how gene flow from a cultivated crop to a weedy relative would influence the ecological fitness of a cropwild hybrid offspring. They published their findings ...
2010-11-02
WASHINGTON —People aren't very accurate at predicting how good or bad they'll feel after an event -- such as watching their team lose the big game or getting a flat-screen TV. But afterwards, they "misremember" what they predicted, revising their prognostications after the fact to match how they actually feel, according to new research.
These findings appear in the November issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, published by the American Psychological Association.
Although the process of predicting emotions seems imprecise from start to finish, misremembering ...
2010-11-02
To a hungry fish on the prowl, the split-second neural processing required to see, track, and gobble up a darting flash of prey is a matter of survival.
To scientists, it's a window into how our brain coordinates the eye motions that enable us to hit a baseball, sidestep an errant skateboarder, and otherwise make our way in a world full of danger and opportunity.
This process is now better understood, thanks to a team of scientists that imaged the activity of individual neurons in a part of a zebrafish's brain called the optic tectum. The optic tectum receives signals ...
2010-11-02
When Stephen Barrager was diagnosed in 2007 with acute multiple myeloma, a form of bone marrow cancer, he endured the same anxiety that troubles all those who receive an upsetting diagnosis. The way he went about dealing with his disease and its treatment, however, was different. Barrager drew upon his engineering and management science background to help him make difficult decisions. Now he is sharing his insights with hospitals and doctors in his native Bay Area and with colleagues at a conference coming to Austin on Nov. 7, 2010.
The annual meeting of the Institute ...
2010-11-02
Orange, Calif., Nov 1, 2010 — A UC Irvine oncologist's work with a targeted therapy is showing great promise in patients with a deadly form of lung cancer. The results were published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The multicenter study is testing whether the drug crizotinib effectively slows, stops or reverses growth in advanced non-small cell lung cancer tumors by targeting a genetic mutation that causes uncontrolled tumor growth. Study participants all tested positive for a mutation in the anaplastic lymphoma kinase gene.
According to the findings, ...
2010-11-02
It is one thing to learn a new piece of information, such as a new phone number or a new word, but quite another to get your brain to file it away so it is available when you need it.
A new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience by researchers at the University of York and Harvard Medical School suggests that sleep may help to do both.
The scientists found that sleep helps people to remember a newly learned word and incorporate new vocabulary into their "mental lexicon".
During the study, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, researchers ...
2010-11-02
OAK BROOK, Ill. – Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain could expand the number of stroke patients eligible for a potentially life-saving treatment, according to a new study, published online and in the December issue of the journal Radiology.
Some patients who suffer an acute ischemic stroke — in which a blood clot or other obstruction blocks blood flow in the brain — can be treated with a drug called tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, that dissolves the clot and restores blood flow. However, the clot-busting drug can only be administered within four and a ...
2010-11-02
New York, NY, November 2, 2010—An initiative by the U. S. technology company Pitney Bowes to make medications of proven value less expensive for their employees succeeded in stabilizing employees' adherence to their treatment regimens, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published in this month's Health Affairs.
The study, led by Niteesh K. Choudhry at Brigham and Women's Hospital, found that adherence to cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, which had been on the decline, immediately stabilized after Pitney Bowes eliminated copayments for the drugs for all ...
2010-11-02
Russia traditionally overproduces grain. Regardless of the fact that a considerable amount of grain has been destroyed this year as a result of heatwaves and drought, the grain production sector in Russia is normally very stable, although it is still in the early stages of its development towards being a major global player. This development is based on the fact that over 8000 enterprises are engaged in the cultivation of grain and other staple crops in Russia.
Oversupply of grain to the domestic market leads to reduction in prices and makes the production of cereals ...
2010-11-02
Montana Timing http://www.montanatiming.com is a new race timing company, now based in Billings, Montana, that offers state-of-the-art race timing systems for competitions throughout the Rocky Mountain region. Competitive events include race running, triathlons, bike races, adventure races, and more.
"We literally have the equipment to support any size or type of race or timed competition," notes Jennifer Drinkwalter, General Manager of Montana Timing.
Drinkwalter explains that Montana Timing uses a disposable timing chip, dubbed "Jaguar" which can be attached to ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] 'Training away stereotypes'
University of Missouri research shows that people trained to think in opposition to stereotypes are more receptive to advertising starring minority actors