What were the four factors that Ward outlined as a rationale for the study? 1. Factor 1: The media’s impact on self-esteem may not be global but may apply to specific aspects of viewers’ self-conceptions. 2. Factor 2: The impact of media use on self-esteem is likely to vary with the content of viewers’ media diets. 3. Factor 3: Media use may be associated with Black viewers’ self-esteem, not only as a consequence of their viewing amounts but also because of their connections with individual portrayals. 4. Factor 4: The strength of the media’s influence on self-esteem may vary across individuals, with some viewers being more vulnerable to negative influences than others.

What were the research questions that Ward answered with the study?
1. Are heavier exposure to and connection with mainstream programs and characters negatively associated with self-esteem and racial self-esteem? Do these associations vary by media genre?
2. Are heavier exposure to and connection with Black-oriented programs and Black characters positively associated with selfesteem and racial self-esteem?
3. To what extent does religiosity buffer negative (or positive) media influences concerning self-esteem and racial self-esteem?

How was the study conducted?

What were the main findings of the study? 1. There are several significant connections between mainstream media use and student’s self-evaluations, negative direction. it was frequent viewing of sports programs that was negatively associated with performance self-esteem, social self-esteem, and racial self-esteem. stronger identification with one’s favorite character was associated with less positive judgments of one’s own social competencies and one’s physical appearance.----- frequent media exposure and stronger viewer identification were associated with lower self-evaluations. 2. the potential impact of Black-oriented media use.
Stronger identification with popular Black male characters was associated with more positive evaluations of one’s own physical appearance. Surprisingly, exposure levels made no contribution; more frequent viewing of Black-oriented programs, assessed as a raw score or as a proportion, was not associated with students’ self-esteem or with their racial self-esteem.--- the findings were minimal 3. the extent to which