Children's Television Selections

Abstract

The same-race hypothesis of identification and modeling was examined with respect to children's television preferences. Subjects were 80 children, equally represented by two grades (third and sixth), two sexes, and two races (Black and White), who were presented with two television programs differing by race of central characters. Children chose either same-race or opposite-race programs and characters for viewing. As predicted, children chose same-race programs significantly more often. No grade or sex effects were found. The results show that children prefer to watch same-race characters and models, implying that same-race individuals may command more attention from children and serve as effective models for them. Results of this study and its implications concerning the limited number of minority characters available in the media are discussed.

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