Vicarious Intergroup Contact Via Television Shows to Enhance Empathy and Reduce Explicit and Implicit Prejudice Toward Black Individuals

Abstract

This study examined the effects of vicarious contact on prejudice toward Black individuals. Undergraduate students (n = 138) were randomly assigned to watch an episode of The Neighborhood (portraying positive interactions between Black and White characters) with discrimination storylines, an episode of The Neighborhood with neutral storylines, or an episode of Young Sheldon (with only White characters) with neutral storylines. Afterward, they completed measures of explicit and implicit prejudice toward Blacks, perceived warmth and likeability of Blacks, perceived discrimination faced by Blacks, anxiety about interacting with Blacks, and ethnocultural empathy. ANOVAs revealed that both explicit and implicit prejudice were significantly lower in the two vicarious contact conditions compared to the control condition, and that perceived warmth of Blacks was greater in the vicarious contact with discrimination storylines condition compared to the control condition. Additionally, parallel mediation analyses revealed that the effects of vicarious contact on explicit prejudice were mediated by perceived discrimination and ethnocultural empathy, and that the effects of vicarious contact on implicit prejudice were mediated by intergroup anxiety and ethnocultural empathy. These findings suggest that observing the intergroup interactions in television shows may increase viewers’ empathic perspective taking and feelings toward Blacks, which is subsequently associated with lower prejudicial attitudes.