Travis L. Dixon
Contact Information
Office: 125 Lincoln Hall
Telephone: (217) 244-0104
Email: tldixon@uiuc.edu
Website: http://www.spcomm.uiuc.edu/tldixon/
Associate Professor
Bio
Professor Dixon’s research interests center around stereotypical portrayals in the mass media and the effect of these images on audiences. His research incorporates psychological theories of stereotyping, critical theories of race, and communication theories of media effects. Professor Dixon is dedicated to examining the content and effects of stereotypical depictions across various media including news, television, the internet, and music. This research investigates the linkage between stereotypic content and social judgments using a variety of methodological approaches including quantitative content analyses, experiments, and surveys.
Curriculum Vitae
Experience
- Social and Psychological Effects of the Mass Media, Effects of Mass Media Stereotyping on Viewers, Racial Representations in the Mass Media, Public Policy Implications of Research on the Role of Mass Media in Society
Education
- Ph.D., University of California-Santa Barbara
Selected Publications
Dixon, T.L. (2007). Black criminals and White officers: The effects of racially misrepresenting law breakers and law defenders on television news. Media Psychology, 10, 270-291.
Dixon, T. L. & Azocar, C. (2007). Priming crime and activating Blackness: Understanding the psychological impact of the overrepresentation of African Americans as lawbreakers on television news. Journal of Communication, 57, 229-253.
Dixon, T. L. (2006). Psychological reactions to crime news portrayals of Black criminals: Understanding the moderating roles of prior news viewing and stereotype endorsement. Communication Monographs, 73, 162-187.
Dixon, T.L. (2006). Schemas as average conceptions: Skin tone, television news exposure, and culpability judgments. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 83, 131-149.
Dixon, T.L. & Azocar, C. (2006). The representation of juvenile offenders by race on Los Angeles area television news. Howard Journal of Communications, 17, 143-161.
Dixon, T.L. & Maddox, K.B. (2005). Skin Tone, crime news, and social reality judgments: Priming the stereotype of the dark and dangerous Black criminal. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 35, 1555-1570.
Dixon, T. L., Azocar, C. & Casas, M. (2003). The portrayal of race and crime on television network news. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 4, 495-520.