Using Media Literacy to Counter Stereotypical Images of Blacks and Latinos at a Predominantly White University

Abstract

Media literacy, the critical analysis and deconstruction of media messages, has the potential to promote favorable attitudes toward members of racial minority groups. This study reports on the development and implementation of two types of media literacy interventions (i.e., critical and stereotype) aimed at enhancing college students' attitudes toward Blacks and Latinos. Students from 5 sections of the same course took part in a quasi-experiment and were randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 interventions or to a control group. Students' attitudes were measured at 3 different times during the study: 6 weeks before the intervention, immediately following the intervention, and 6 weeks after the intervention. Both interventions enhanced students' attitudes toward Blacks and Latinos but the stereotype intervention was more effective than the critical one, both for short- and long-term effects, as the latter disappeared in the critical condition. Attitudes of students in the control group remained the same throughout the study. Implications address how to use media literacy to enhance conversation about race relations.