Browsing by Subject "Stereotype"
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Item Capturing the social memory of librarianship(2013-05) Smith, Alan Arro; Roy, LorieneThis research has identified elements of the social memory of librarianship from the last half of the twentieth century by collecting and examining thirty-four oral history interviews of librarians at the end of their careers. These professional life stories trace an important arc through the history of library and information science. Many of these librarians began their careers prior to the use of any form of computer technology in libraries. This cohort ushered in a wave of technological innovations that has revolutionized the access to information. These oral history interviews are part of the Capturing Our Stories Oral History Program of Retiring/Retired Librarians sponsored by the American Library Association and the School of Information at the University of Texas. The social memory includes regret and nostalgia for the librarianship practiced at the beginning of their careers, excitement and wonder about how technology has fundamentally changed the profession, and perspectives on the popular stereotype associated with their careers.Item Examining ethnic identity and stereotypes of American-raised Chinese undergraduates in Texas(2010-05) Soon, Kokyung; Falbo, Toni; Richardson, Frank; Valencia, Richard; Suizzo, Marie-Anne; Urrieta, LuisAlthough there have been many studies focusing on Asian Americans’ ethnic identity and the stereotypes associated with them, little is known about how Asian Americans negotiate their multiple layers of ethnic identity and respond to the stereotypes imposed on them. The main goals of the current study were to examine American-Raised Chinese’ (i.e., Chinese who were born and/or raised in America) multiple layers of ethnic identity and their negotiation process of these multiple layers of ethnic identity, the relationship between their ethnic identity and stereotypes, and the creative ways American-Raised Chinese interpreted and responded to stereotypes. Another goal of this study was to examine the role of an ethnic student organization on campus and American-Raised Chinese’s participation in the organization. Through Chinese Cultural Association, I interviewed eighteen informants and observed their daily practices in public and private settings. The findings indicated that American-Raised Chinese undergraduates choosing to participate in an ethnic student organization over other organizations reflected their active negotiation of the multilayered ethnic identity. In addition, by meeting Chinese of different nationalities on campus and abroad, these undergraduates came to realize the diverse background of Chinese individuals, leading them to reexamine and reconstruct their ethnic identity. In particular, these undergraduates developed diasporic Chinese identity that not only acknowledged the diversity of Chinese community in America in terms of nationality, but also transformed their American identity into “ethnic” identity among Chinese of different nationalities. The findings also showed that American-Raised Chinese’ negotiation of their ethnic identity was closely related to their perception of the stereotypes. The informants came to recognize the changing nature of stereotypes and this realization led them to reconstrue their understanding of ethnic identity. Furthermore, using anecdotes of American-Raised Chinese undergraduates’ self impersonation, I argued that these undergraduates proactively responded to the stereotypes by making parody about themselves. Through self impersonation, these undergraduates achieved the double intents of performing themselves as Asian American and simultaneously challenged what the dominant American society expected them to be.Item How age and race of defendant and victim influence mock jurors' perceptions in a child sexual molestation case(Texas Tech University, 2001-12) Escamilla, GuadalupePeople often use preconceived biases to make judgments about other people. This phenomenon is also known to occur in the justice system. Juror bias research has investigated how characteristics, such as physical attractiveness, age, race, and gender, of a defendant can influence jurors' and even judges' decisions about guilt verdicts and sentencings. The characteristics of the victims have also been found to create biases in juror research. More specifically, in cases involving child sexual assault, the age of the victim has been found to influence jurors' perceptions. This dissertation investigated how the effects of defendant and victim characteristics (victim and defendant age and race) combined influenced jurors' perceptions of defendant guilt, defendant and victim credibility, honesty, responsibility, and mental competence. The results indicated that participant gender and victim age were far more likely to influence perceptions of the defendant and the victim. Defendant age did not influence results significantly.Item The impact of selective exposure on political polarization and participation : an exploration of mediating and moderating mechanisms(2013-05) Kim, Yonghwan; Gil de Zúñiga, Homero; McCombs, Maxwell E.; Stroud, Natalie JominiThis dissertation seeks to improve our understanding of the process by which citizens' selective exposure contributes to attitudinal polarization and engagement in political activities. In this dissertation, I test two models that explicate the relationship between selective exposure and political polarization and participation. The knowledge model suggests that the effects of selective exposure on individuals' attitudinal polarization and political engagement are mediated by knowledge of candidate issue stances. The stereotype model proposes that selective exposure indirectly influences polarized attitudes and political participation via stereotypical perceptions of candidates (i.e., McCain's age and the prospect of a Black presidency). By posing issue knowledge and stereotypical perceptions as potential mediators, this study extends current literature to analyze why and how selective exposure leads to polarization and political participation. The results provide evidence that selective exposure influences individuals' stereotypical perceptions of the candidates' age and race, and these stereotypic perceptions influence attitudinal polarization and participation in campaign activities. There was no support for the knowledge model; selective exposure did not have a significant relationship with citizens' issue knowledge nor did it play a mediating role in the relationship between selective exposure and political polarization and participation. This dissertation thus challenges the argument that selective exposure is normatively desirable due to its contribution to citizens' greater levels of political participation. The findings of this study call into question such a contention because the results show that individuals who engage in selective exposure are motivated to participate in political activities by forming stereotypic perceptions of candidates rather than by gaining factual issue knowledge, which is in contrast to democratic theories' assumptions of informed citizenship. Turning to the role of exposure to dissonant media outlets, two contrasting roles were found. On one hand, results offer some evidence that dissonant media use contributes to gaining issue knowledge and inspiring citizen participation. On the other hand, some findings suggest that it reinforces, rather than attenuates, citizens' attitudinal polarization and stereotypical perceptions of candidates. Thus the findings from this study offer mixed support for encouraging citizen exposure to dissimilar viewpoints.Item The influence of stigma of mental illnesses on decoding and encodting of verbal and nonverbal messages(2013-05) Imai, Tatsuya; Dailey, René M.Stigmas associated with depression and schizophrenia have been found to negatively impact the communication those with mental illness have with others in face-to-face interactions (e.g., Lysaker, Roe, & Yanos, 2007; Nicholson & Sacco, 1999). This study attempted to specifically examine how stigma affects cognitions, emotions, and behaviors of interactants without a mental illness toward those with a mental illness in online interactions. In this experimental study, 412 participants interacted with a hypothetical target on Facebook, who was believed to have depression, schizophrenia, or a cavity (i.e., the control group). They were asked to read a profile of the target on Facebook, respond to a message from the target, and complete measurements assessing perceived positive and negative face threats in the target's message, perceived facial expressions of the target, induced affect, predicted outcome value, and rejecting attitudes towards the target. Results revealed that the target labeled as schizophrenic was rejected more and perceived to have lower outcome value than the target without a mental illness or labeled as depressive. However, there were no significant differences in any outcomes between the depression and control groups. The mixed results were discussed in relation to methodological limitations and possible modifications of previous theoretical arguments. Theoretical and practical contributions were considered and suggestions for future research were offered.Item Perpetuating stereotypes in television news : the influence of interracial contact on content(2012-12) Free, David Alan; Lasorsa, Dominic L.; Buckley, Cynthia J; Burd, Gene A; Coleman, Renita B; Poindexter, Paula MPrevious research indicates stereotypes of minorities are persistent in television news stories. Can personal familiarity with different racial/ethnic groups influence the selection of non-stereotypical news images? Supported by theories of the personal contact hypothesis, framing, priming, schema, and stereotyping, this study hypothesized that student journalists with a high level of personal contact with different races/ethnicities would select non-stereotypical images to help illustrate television news stories focusing on social issues and hypothesized that student journalists with a low level of personal contact would select non-stereotypical images for the same texts when primed to think about facts countering common misconceptions of racial/ethnic stereotypes. Also, will the level of personal contact with different races/ethnicities and the self-identified race of the student journalist influence non-stereotypical image selection? A two-part experiment tested 128 student journalists with an online pre-test measuring the level of personal contact in social activities with different races/ethnicities. Later, a substantive in-person experiment required participants to select from a set of four photographs, the photo that they believed best represented the content of a news story in which race played a possible role. This task was conducted five times with five different news stories and five different sets of photographs. The independent variables were the level of personal contact and whether or not the participant was first primed to think about facts countering common racial/ethnic misconceptions. The dependent variable was the selection of either a non-stereotypical or stereotypical photo. A two-way between-subjects analysis of variance was used. Results showed no significant difference in photo selection attributed to the level of personal contact or to prior priming to think non-stereotypically. There was no significant difference between prior priming and photo selection. Additionally, the race of the participant made no difference in photo selection. While these results are contrary to existing theory, research, pedagogy and intuition. It is worth noting that finding no statistical significance does not necessarily mean that the phenomenon is not happening in reality. Responses to open ended questions within the manipulation tests were qualitatively analyzed and showed that although the 14 participants enrolled in a university liberal arts course were able to recognize the racial stereotypes within the news stories, some chose stereotypical images contrary to their stated criterion for selecting a non-stereotypical image. Future research should test the hypotheses with subjects from more heterogeneous regions of the country, and recruit professional and student journalists as study participants and compare generational differences in cultural, racial, and ethnic understanding, education, and tolerance.