Date of Award
5-1999
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Communication
First Advisor
Marshall Prisbell
Second Advisor
Owen Mordaunt
Third Advisor
Michael Hilt
Abstract
This thesis examined what communication stereotypes are held by Caucasian college students. The literature review focused on defining stereotypes, the function and roles of stereotypes, how stereotypes serve as communication barriers, and findings of previous studies of stereotypes. The research question asked what are the communication stereotypes of African-Americans, Japanese-Americans and Mexican-Americans as maintained by Caucasian undergraduate college students? Participants in the study were 200 Caucasian, undergraduate students who were asked to complete a survey regarding typical communication characteristics of each group in question. The results indicated uniformity in response to Japanese- and African- Americans with less agreement on characteristics of Mexican-Americans. Discussion, interpretation of results, and future research are explored, especially in the context of the development of stereotypes and how they impact individual perceptions.
Recommended Citation
Swartz, Danna Voorhes, "Communication stereotypes of Caucasian college students" (1999). Student Work. 112.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/112
Comments
A Thesis Presented to the Department of Communication and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts University of Nebraska at Omaha.