ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of extant scholarship and what it implies about the role of media in affecting social group perceptions and interactions. Research focused on portrayals of race and ethnicity has examined a diversity of social groups, though the representation of African Americans has received the greatest amount of scholarly attention, perhaps because African Americans constitute the largest percentage of minority representation in US media content. The study of media portrayals of characters that are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ) is relatively new in the social-scientific community, which is likely a reflection of their infrequent media depictions until recently. As scholars continue to examine the influence of media on social cognition, people encourage a greater emphasis on groups that are frequently stigmatized in terms of variables such as health, sexual orientation, physical characteristics, and even behavioral characteristics. Finally, the chapter discusses by briefly considering the implications of changing technologies on inter-group perceptions.
