Linguistic Characteristics of Interracial Interactions on Primetime TV: A Quantitative Content Analysis

Media depictions of interactions between members of different ethnic/racial groups can have either constructive or detrimental social impact depending on the characteristics of these representations. To advance understanding of these interracial dynamics, the linguistic characteristics of interracial interactions in scripted primetime television shows were examined. Human and computer-assisted analysis of 548 interactions involving 578 characters revealed a relatively egalitarian pattern of representation of interracial interactions. Furthermore, in line with communication accommodation theory, characters generally matched each other’s language use (i.e., converged) during interracial interactions.