Blackwell Reference Online

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Stereotypes are positive or negative generalizations indiscriminately attributed to members of a group ( Tamborini et al. 2000 ; →  stereotypes ). They have a significant impact on individuals' perception of and interactions with members of different social groups by conveying information about the social groups' capabilities (e.g., fast learners, good athletes), personalities (e.g., shy, violent) and/or socio-economic status (e.g., educated, powerful, poor). While stereotypes may come from personal interaction, they are often acquired indirectly from exposure to mass media (→  Exposure to Communication Content ). The media are powerful in developing, reinforcing, and validating stereotypical beliefs and expectations concerning certain groups, particularly when the audience's personal experience with those groups is limited (→  Media and Group Representations ). Media conveniently package information about social groups into simple, identifiable images, thereby assisting →  audiences to more easily accept and understand people and things they have not closely experienced. LaFerle and Lee (2005 , 142) argue that “to provide an efficient path to cultural understanding, mass media employ stereotypes as a convenient categorization tool. The stereotypical →  Images found in media messages are easily accepted because they are usually simple and have little ambiguity.” They “act as ... log in or subscribe to read full text