THE EFFECT OF RACE, GENDER, AND BIAS ON LIKING OF COMMERCIALS WITH PERCEIVED STEREOTYPES

Previous research indicates that although individuals may not differ in the ability to identify cultural stereotypes, they do differ in their reactions. Additionally research on television documents the pervasiveness of both gender and racial stereotypes, but few researchers have examined the effect of stereotypical portrayals on the viewer's reaction. We designed the present research to examine the effect of stereotypical portrayals on viewers' reactions to commercials. Findings indicate that viewers did not differ in their overall perception of whether stereotypes were present, but did differ in how stereotypical portrayals affected their liking of a commercial.