Page 35 - Media Effects Advances in Theory and Research

24 ZILLMANN

In case population parameters are not known, the degree of representa-
tion is not discernible. Presumptions about variation in the event popula-
tion might be used as a guide for exemplification. However, to the degree
that such presumptions are erroneous, exemplar samples can only mis-
represent the event population.
The representation of event populations by media exemplifications has
been a prominent domain of inquiry for some time. In a groundbreaking
investigation, Berelson and Salter (1946) introduced the comparative
assessment of exemplar ratios and ratios of the exemplified events. Specif-
ically, these investigators demonstrated bias in the representation of major-
ity and minority Americans in magazine fiction by relating the proportions
of ethnically identified protagonists to the proportions of the respective
ethnic groups in the general population. Minorities were found to be
grossly underrepresented as heroes, the majority grossly overrepresented.
Gerbner and his collaborators (e.g., Gerbner, Gross, Morgan, & Sig-
norielli, 1986) have applied this technique to exemplifications in prime-
time television and recorded a host of misrepresentations. For instance, in
the cast of characters, men were vastly overexemplified, women vastly
underexemplified. In fact, the portrayal of men outnumbered that of
women by a factor of three. Teens and the elderly were severely underex-
emplified. The exemplification of minorities was found to be similarly
nonrepresentative, with Blacks reaching only three-fourths and Hispanic
Americans only one-third of their presence in the population. Regarding
the overrepresentation of crime and its curtailment in fiction, the law
enforcement personnel alone outnumbered all blue-collar and service
workers by a far margin.
Greenberg, Simmons, Hogan, and Atkin (1980) analogously assessed
television characters by a set of their features and then compared the char-
acters’ prevalence to census data. Among other things, these investigators
reported an underrepresentation of women, children, older people,
craftspersons, and clericals, as well as an overrepresentation of managers
and persons ages 20 to 50.
The assessment of representation is not limited, however, to compar-
isons with segments of the populace. Exemplifications can be related to all
situations for which reliable parameters exist. For instance, Dominick
(1973) compared the portrayal of crime on prime-time television with
crime statistics and observed a gross overrepresentation of violent crime,
of assault and murder in particular. Comparisons also can be made
against conceptually compelling standards. Stocking, Sapolsky, and Zill-
mann (1977), for example, ascertained the frequency of intergender put-
downs in prime-time comedy and observed, counter to prevalent beliefs
at the time, that men were as much the butt of jokes delivered by women
as women were of jokes delivered by men. Moreover, comparisons have