Mediated Interparty Contact: Entertainment Media’s Impact on Partisanship

• In Event: Conflict Processes 3 & Political Psychology Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual Poster Session: Political Psychology Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Can mediated or vicarious contact between partisans shape viewers’ perceptions of the opposing party? While many intergroup conflicts have been examined to understand when and how prejudice and bias can be diminished, we have only just begun to understand the impact of intergroup contact through the media – fictional or otherwise. Building upon the social contact hypothesis and intergroup contact theory, mediated intergroup contact has been established as a means of diminishing prejudice and anxiety toward an outgroup. Further, partisanship has been little explored regarding the social contact hypothesis, and as tensions and division grow between Republicans and Democrats, this intergroup contact becomes less likely. However, fictional media may serve as a potential space for vicarious contact. In a pilot study of undergraduate seniors, I found increased sympathy toward the opposing party’s views on gun rights when participants where exposed to an episode of the show The Bold Type depicting an argument between friends with deeply opposing views on this topic. In a larger study, I will more deeply examine the potential of mediated interparty contact to diminish prejudice in partisans.

Author

• Alexandra C. Pauley, Georgia State University