title: Priming media stereotypes reduces support for social welfare policies: the mediating role of empathy.
abstract: Two experiments involving White participants tested the influence of media-based priming of Black stereotypes on support for government policy that assisted Black versus White persons-in-need. Experiment 1 showed that priming the "Black criminal" stereotype through exposure to photographs of Blacks looting after Hurricane Katrina reduced policy support for Black evacuees-in-need but did not influence support responses toward White evacuees-in-need. Experiment 2 showed that priming the "promiscuous Black female" stereotype through exposure to sexual rap music reduced policy support for a Black pregnant woman-in-need but did not influence support responses toward a White pregnant woman-in-need. Further tests of mediated moderation demonstrated that in both experiments, the interactive influence of priming Black stereotypes and race of persons-in-need on policy support was mediated by empathic responding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC 28403, USA. johnsonj@uncw.edu
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Nelgy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Olivo
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ashburn-Nardo
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008402:Mass Media; D009657:North Carolina; D011050:Policy Making; D011639:Public Opinion; D011640:Public Policy; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000208:ethnology*; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D044465:White People