The Effect of Ethnicity and Number of Co-Viewers on Affective and Cognitive Identification With Media Characters

This research examines the distinctiveness of two components of identification with media characters: cognitive and affective. It also explores how these components are differentially affected by the viewing environment. In an experiment, Jewish and Arab Israelis watched a clip depicting the Israeli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journalism & mass communication quarterly 2020-09, Vol.97 (3), p.663-682
Main Author: Tal-Or, Nurit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arab people
Characters
Cognition & reasoning
Distinctiveness
Ethnicity
Group identity
Identification
Viewers
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Summary:This research examines the distinctiveness of two components of identification with media characters: cognitive and affective. It also explores how these components are differentially affected by the viewing environment. In an experiment, Jewish and Arab Israelis watched a clip depicting the Israeli–Palestinian conflict with either one or two Jewish or Arab co-viewers. As hypothesized, these components of identification loaded on different factors and showed different relationships when referring to in-group and out-group characters. Moreover, the Jewish participants showed more affective identification with the Jewish protagonist when watching with two Arabs, which, in turn, affected their attitudes about the in-group.
ISSN:1077-6990
2161-430X
DOI:10.1177/1077699019886580