An article: writing a 40 minute presentaiton on certain topic. Consuming Image: How Mass Media Impact the Identity of People with Disabilities Lingling Zhang & Beth Haller

1- positive and negative self image and identity

2 – definition of Medical Model and examples

3 – Social Pathology of people with disabilities -(definition and examples)

4 – Super Crip definition and examples

those are the four points needed to be covered from the article…

Consuming Image: How Mass Media Impact the Identity of People with Disabilities
Lingling Zhang & Beth Haller
To cite this article: Lingling Zhang & Beth Haller (2013) Consuming Image: How Mass Media Impact the Identity of People with Disabilities, Communication Quarterly, 61:3, 319-334, DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2013.776988

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2013.776988

Published online: 14 Jun 2013.

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Communication Quarterly Vol. 61, No. 3, JulyâAugust 2013, pp. 319â334

Consuming Image: How Mass Media Impact the Identity of People with Disabilities
Lingling Zhang & Beth Haller
This research investigated what people with disabilities think about media representa tions of their community and how mass media impact their disability identity. The study found that respondents (N¼ 359) think American media portray people with disabilities both negatively and positively. Perceived positive media representation of people with dis abilities led to affirmation of their disability identity even when the media messages were perceived as unrealistic, whereas negative media representation led to denial of their disability identity. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Keywords: Identity; Media Effects; People With Disabilities; Perceived Realism
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 50 million Americans have a disability, and about two-thirds of these individuals have a severe disability (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). Today, people with disabilities still face many architectural, occu pational, educational, and communication barriers in the United States. For example, in September 2011, the percentage of people with disabilities in the labor force was 17.8. The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 15.0%, compared with 8.7% for persons with no disability (U.S. Department of Labor, 2012). However, for the general public and even academic scholars, disability issues seem to not have drawn enough attention compared to other social minority groups in the United States.

National Organization on Disability (NOD, 2010) president Carol Glazer used her organizationâs survey results to emphasize that everyone should play a role in

Lingling Zhang (Ph.D., Washington State University, 2008) is an assistant professor in the Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies at Towson University. Beth Haller (Ph.D., Temple University, 1995) is a professor in the Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies at Towson Uni versity. Correspondence: Lingling Zhang, Department of Mass Communication and Communication Studies, Towson University, 8000 York Rd., Towson, MD 21252; E-mail: ******************

ISSN 0146-3373 print/1746-4102 online # 2013 Eastern Communication Association DOI: 10.1080/01463373.2013.776988

the disability rights movement because it lags behind other civil rights movements. Specifically, she called for the need for governments to remove obstacles that pre vent people with disabilities from being employed, the need for business to recog nize the contributions workers with disabilities can make, the need for schools to better prepare students with disabilities for their future career, and the need for Hollywood to depict people with disabilities in a more realistic way. (NOD, 2010). It is these inequities that the disability community still faces that inform this research project. To the authorâs knowledge, no media scholars have asked people with disabilities themselves what they think of media representations of their community or issues. This research attempts to fill that gap by exploring what dis abled people think about media representation of the disability community and disability issues.

In addition to evaluating media representation of disability issues and the dis ability community, the study also investigates how media exposure and the way people with disabilities process media messages impact their disability identities. According to Hahn and Belt (2004), many disabled citizens regard living with their disability a valuable experience that can yield a positive source of personal and polit ical identity, whereas some view their disability as a negative defect that results in a loss or decline of bodily functions. Studies have shown that people with disabilities have to develop some ââposture vis-aÌ-vis certain salient cultural values which portray them in a less than favorable lightââ (Anspach, 1979, p. 768). When forming their identities, people with disabilities have to consciously or unconsciously adopt some strategies dealing with two-dimensional stance toward societal values and self-concept because they are at a disadvantage compared to some important values in our society (Davis, 1975). There are two main types of identities for stigmatized groups. One is a positive self-identity by which an individual with a disability makes concerted efforts to minimize or downplay the stigma attached to his or her identity and is able to main tain relatively sanguine and confident attitudes toward the self (Anspach, 1979; Davis, 1975). The other is negative self-identity by which an individual with a disability is unable to accept the harsh fact of his or her disqualifications and has a lower self-esteem about the self-image (Anspach, 1979; Davis, 1975). Of course, there are always some who live in between, as Ferris (2009) argued that disability is not fixed, but ââa product of social processesââ (p. 9). Studies have found that disability com munity identity continues to be constructed, transformed, and maintained through news media representations of disability (Haller, Dorris, & Rahn, 2006).

Quinlan and Bates (2009) argued that mass media have a great influence on societyâs perceptions of people with disabilities. Studies have shown the distorted media representations of social minorities group can even affect social or minorities groupsâ actual performance and their own perceived identity (Ben-Zeev, Fein, & Inzlicht, 2004). However, few studies have been conducted on how media portrayals may impact the perceived self-identity of people with disabilities. Therefore, this study further explores how media exposure and perceived realism of media represen tation affect the self-identity among people with disabilities.

Literature Review
Media Representations of People with Disabilities
Content analysis for the past 30 years has revealed problematic media representations of people with disabilities and their issues. Disability activists have long attributed the misrepresentations of the disability community to the US news and entertainment media. Disability activists have argued that either they were generally excluded from representation in the media, or they were represented with negative stereotypes, which contributed to a misunderstanding of their lives and the social and political issues that affected them (Haller, 2010). Shapiro (1994) believes that disability lobby ists for the American Disability Act did not rely on the media to push their ideas because they thought the media stories would only perpetuate stereotypes and misinform the public.

Throughout the years, scholars have identified several models in terms of how media frame people with disabilities and disability issues, including themedicalmodel, the social pathology model, and the supercrip model (Clogston, 1990). In the medical model, persons who are disabled are shown as dependent on health professionals for cures or maintenance (Clogston, 1990). In the social pathology model, people with disabilities are depicted as disadvantaged and have to turn to the society for support (Clogston, 1990). Sometimes people with disabilities are depicted as taking advantage of their disabled body to try ââto gain unfair access to privileges and accommodationsââ (Quinlan & Bates, 2008, p. 75). In the supercrip model, people with disabilities are represented as ââsuperhumanââ because they achieve unexpected accomplishments or live a normal life just like people with no disabilities (Clogston, 1990). For example, an analysis of journalistic and blogger reactions to Heather Millsâs performance on Dancing with the Stars showed that Mills was depicted as a supercrip because of her superhuman dancing performance (Quinlan & Bates, 2008). To some extent, the supercrip model is empowering compared to the other models. These three models of media representation of disability have been confirmed by the content analysis results of more than a dozen major U.S. newspapers (Clogston, 1990) and a content analysis of the media coverage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Haller, 1995, 1999, 2003). These media models also apply to entertainment TV and films. U.S. media and disability researcher Nelson (1994) argued that most images of individuals with disabilities on media have been negative. Individuals with disabilities are often depicted as undergoing some stress and trauma, receiving over compensation, having mental disorders, and demonstrating bizarre behaviors (Donaldson, 1981).

Many film and disability studies scholars have critiqued those clicheÌd media images of people with disabilities over the years (Enns & Smit, 2001; Larsen & Haller, 2002; Poore, 2003; Whittington-Walsh, 2002). And some disability studies scholars now acknowledge the power of negative film images to add to the oppression of people with disabilities (Haller, 2010). Studies have shown that negative media repre sentations might impact psychological states of the stigmatized groups (e.g., Davies, Spencer, Quinn, & Gerhardstern, 2002).

Steele (1997) believed that being aware of the negative stereotypes about themselves in the mass media culture can cause a situational predicament for stigma tized individuals in a way that will undermine their performance and aspirations. Empirical studies have found media discourse contributes to creating and perpetuat ing underperformances among stigmatized groups and preventing them from re alizing their intellectual potential (Steele, 1997; Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002). Disability studies scholar Barnes (1992) argued that the negative stereotypes within media portrayals of the disability community devalue disabled people, which might even lead them to ââdeny their disability status to avoid negative public judgmentsââ (Quinlan & Bates, 2010, p. 10). For example, some people with learning disabilities are not willing to disclose this information to the public because they are afraid of negative evaluations (Quinlan & Bates, 2010). Therefore, media could affect the identity of people with disabilities. Social cognitive theory (SCT) provides a solid framework to understand this possibility.

SCT
SCT proposes that people are not merely passive viewers of content but are cognizant consumers who reflect, regulate, and vicariously learn from materials projected on media (Bandura, 2001). Mass media are not only important agents for individuals to learn and formulate their attitudes, values, and beliefs, but also affect their self-esteem and self-perception as well. Observing other peopleâs behaviors rewarded or punished results in vicarious reinforcement of those behaviors in an observer. This type of reinforcement can be both social- and self-perceived. Self-reinforcement is related to positive or negative feelings about a behavior observed (Bandura, 2001), which might affect individualsâ self-identity. With frequent exposure to media mes sages related to self-identity, individuals may internalize what they observe from mass media and project the information to their own values. For example, Clay, Vignoles, and Dittmar (2005) found that unrealistic media portrayals of female body images and frequent exposure lowered younger girlsâ self-esteem and affected their self-perception negatively. Perceived valence of media representation is an important factor explaining this media effect.

Perceived valence of media representation. Valence is the affective value attached to an observed event by the receiver (Tan et al., 2009), which can be positive or negative depending on how media users value the depicted events (Rokeach, 1968). Many stereotype studies show that perceived valence of media portrayals influences stereotypes of outgroups. For example, Tan, Fujioka, and Tan (1997) found that per ceived positive TV attributes of Native Americans were related to positive stereotyp ing of the racial group, whereas perceived negative TV attributes lead to negative stereotyping.

Perceived valence has been studied in the field of stereotypes of racial minority groups, but not much in the domain of self-identity. Given the theoretical framework

f SCT, and the mixed media representations of people with disabilities, it is important to include the perceived valence of media portrayals of disabilities to study media impacts on perceived self-identity of people with disabilities. According to SCT (Bandura, 2001), when exposed to empowering media representations of dis- ability (e.g., the supercrip model), people with disabilities vicariously experience the observed model or behavior rewarded and, thus, develop positive feelings toward the depictions. Through this vicarious reinforcement, people with disabilities are likely to hold positive perceptions about their disability identity, and vice versa. In
ther words, perceived positive media depictions of themselves affect the identity
f people with disabilities positively in a way that they are more likely to appreciate their disability, whereas perceived negative media representations impact their ident- ity negatively in a way that they are more likely to reject their disability.
Perceived realism. In addition to perceived valence, another factor that could make social learning from media more likely is perceived realism. Perceived realism refers to the extent to which individuals evaluate media messages as real or true to life. The SCT provides a theoretical basis to understand four mechanisms (attention, reten tion, production, and motivation) through which people learn from mass media (Bandura, 2001). To learn from media, individuals must attend to information from mass media. The more salient the information, the more likely people will pay atten tion to it. Research shows that perceived realism can influence the salience of media representations (Huesmann, 1986). In other words, media portrayal is salient if it is perceived as realistic. The more realistic media messages are, the more likely they will affect media consumers (Bandura, 2001). Studies have shown that perceived realism is an important predictor of media impacts on attitudes formation (e.g., Tan et al., 2009). For example, Green and Brock (2002) found that the more realistic people perceive a narrative, the more likely they will have the beliefs consistent with the theme of the narrative.

Studies have shown that media representations of social minority groups are not always true to life. For example, one disability and film studies scholar said he began to research film depictions because he saw little resemblance between actual people with disabilities and disabled characters in the movies (Norden, 2001). British dis ability studies scholar Shakespeare (1999) criticized the stereotypical representations of people with disabilities because those presentations are not realistic and can reinforce the negative attitudes toward people with disabilities and ignorance about the nature of disability. However, few studies have tried to explore how perceived realism moderates the impacts of media exposure (e.g., the frequency of watching television) on the perceived identity of people with disabilities.

Based on the literature reviewed, mass media play significant roles in forming peo pleâs attitudes and beliefs. How media represent stigmatized groups has the potential to shape their identities and self-images. Besides media exposure, perceived valence of media portrayals and perceived realism are also important factors predicting media impacts on the self-perceptions of stigmatized groups. Therefore, the following hypotheses were proposed:

H1: The more attention people with disabilities pay to mass media for information about disability issues, the more likely they think media frame people with disabilities as special or superhuman (the supercrip model). H2: The more attention people with disabilities pay to mass media for information about disability issues, the more likely they think media frame disability as illness (the medical model). H3: The more attention people with disabilities pay to mass media for information about disability issues, the more likely they would think media frame people with disabil ities as disadvantaged and in need of social or economic support (the social pathol ogy model). H4: The self-identity of people with disabilities will depend on (a) the valence of por trayals of people with disabilities in the media to which they have been exposed and (b) the extent to which they consider these portrayals to be believable and realistic.

These hypotheses predict that perceived negative portrayals (the medical model and the social pathology model) will lead to negative self-identity, but only when these portrayals are realistic, and perceived positive portrayals (the supercrip model) will lead to positive stereotypes, but only when these portrayals are realistic.

Method
Data Collection
The data was collected via online survey. We identified potential respondents from the membership lists of 31 disability-related organizations or groups (list available on request). The respondents were chosen on the basis of their affiliation with these organizations. Members of the 31 organizations or groups were sent e-mails directly by their respective organization leaders with a request to participate in the survey. The respondents were assured of the confidentiality of both respondent and organi zation identities.

A total of 430 respondents started the survey and 359 completed the survey, resulting in a response rate of 83.5%. Among 430 respondents, 390 were people with disabilities. For the purpose of this study, we only included the respondents with disabilities for data analysis. About one-third (29.7%; n¼ 116) of them were born with disabilities, whereas 70.3% (n¼ 274) of them acquired the disabilities later.

Among the 390 qualified respondents, the average age was 47.31 (SD¼ 13.91), ranging from 18 to 82 years old. Men represented 26.7% (n¼ 104) of the respon dents, 52.6% (n¼ 205) of the respondents were women, and 81 did not report a sex (20.7%). Participants represented a number of races and ethnicities, but the majority of respondents were Caucasians (66.9%; n¼ 261), followed by respondents of African descent (3.8%; n¼ 15), Asian descent (1.5%; n¼ 6), Hispanic or Latino (1.3%; n¼ 5), American Indian or Alaskan Native (0.8%; n¼ 3), Native Hawaiian

r Pacific Islander (0.5%; n¼ 2), or two or more ethnicities (3.1%; n¼ 12). Eighty participants (20.5%) did not disclose their ethnicities.
Individuals from 18 countries participated. A plurality (65.4%; n¼ 255) of the
respondents were from the United States, followed by Canada (5.6%; n¼ 22), the United Kingdom (1.3%; n¼ 5), and Germany (0.8%; n¼ 3). Two individuals (0.5%; each from Australia and Vietnam) participated. Another 12 countries had
nly one respondent participating in this study: Albania, Costa Rica, France, Iran, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, and Sweden.
Measures
Media use. Respondents were asked to indicate how much attention they pay to the following media for information related to people with disabilities: television news programs, television entertainment programs other than movies, movies, news papers, magazines, radio stations, news sites on the Internet, social networking Web sites (i.e., Facebook1, Twitter, etc.), and Web blogs by disability activist groups. A scale ranging from 1 (very little attention) to 7 (a lot of attention) was used. Cron bachâs alpha for this index was .84.

Perceived realism. Respondents indicated the extent to which they agree or disagree with the four statements about the mediaâs representation of disability issues: ââIn general, mass media accurately portray the lives of people with disabilities,ââ ââIn general, mass mediaâs representation of people with disabilities are realistic,ââ ââIn general, mass media give objective coverage about disability issues,ââ and ââIn general, mass mediaâs representation of people with disabilities reflects how they are in real life.ââ A scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree) was used (a¼ .89).

The medical model. Respondents indicated the extent to which they agree or dis agree with the following statement using a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree): ââIn most news stories you read about disability issues, disability is presented as an illness dependent on health professionals for cures or maintenance.ââ

The social pathology model. Respondents indicated the extent to which they agree or disagree with the following statement using a scale ranging from 1 (strongly dis agree) to 7 (strongly agree): ââIn most news stories you read about disability issues, people with disabilities are presented as disadvantaged who must look to the state or to society for economic support, which is considered a gift, not a right.ââ

The supercrip model. Respondents indicated the extent to which they agree or dis agree with the following statement using a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree): ââIn most news stories you read about disability issues, people with disabilities are portrayed as superhuman, inspirational, or âspecialâ because they live with a disability.ââ

Self-identity. The Self-Identity Scale was adapted from Hahn and Belt (2004). Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with the six statements using a scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The self-identification items were subjected to a factor analysis, using the principal components method of extraction and varimax rotation with Kaiser normalization to obtain a final solution. Two factors emerged. The first factor (explaining 32.22% of variance) was labeled ââaffirmation of self-identity.ââ This factor (a¼ .79) included the following items: ââIn general, Iâm glad to be a person with a disability,ââ ââBeing a person with a disability is an important reflection of me,ââ and ââI feel proud to be a person with a disability.ââ The second factor (explaining 31.76% of variance) was labeled ââdenial of self-identity.ââ This factor (a¼ .75) included the following items: ââMy disability sometimes makes me feel ashamed,ââ ââI do not feel good about being a person with a disability,ââ and ââI regret that I am a person with a disability.ââ

Results
Descriptive Statistics
Respondents reported a mean of 4.39 (SD¼ 1.42) on a 7-point scale of media use for information about disability. Among all the different types of media used by people with disabilities, the most often used was news sites (M¼ 5.14, SD¼ 1.87), followed by newspapers (M¼ 4.85, SD¼ 2.02), and television news (M¼ 4.75, SD¼ 2.23). The least used medium was radio (M¼ 3.92, SD¼ 1.92).

Overall, the respondents believed that American media representations of people with disabilities were not realistic (M¼ 1.94, SD¼ 1.06), and that media tended to frame people with disabilities as being sick (M¼ 5.36, SD¼ 1.37), as relying on social or economic support (M¼ 5.35, SD¼ 1.67), and as superhuman (M¼ 5.34, SD¼ 1.68). Participants reported high affirmation of self-identity (M¼ 5.10, SD¼ 1.57) and lower denial of self-identity (M¼ 2.59, SD¼ 1.49). Most respondents were relatively comfortable about their disability identity.

Hypotheses Testing
H1 predicted a positive correlation between use of media for information about dis ability issues and the perception that media frame people with disabilities as special superhuman. A bivariate correlation was run to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis was supported (r¼ .133, p< .017; n¼ 321).

H2 proposed that the attention people with disabilities paid to mass media for information about disability issues was positively associated with the belief that media frame disability as illness. A bivariate correlation was run to test the hypoth esis. The hypothesis was supported (r¼ .128, p< .021; n¼ 321).

H3 predicted that the more attention people with disabilities paid to mass media for information about disability issues, the more likely they would think media frame people with disabilities as disadvantaged in need of social or economic support. A bivariate correlation was run to test the hypothesis. The hypothesis was supported (r¼ .171, p< .002; n¼ 323).

Hierarchical regression was conducted to test H4. Demographic information (age, sex, and ethnicity) was entered in the first block and media use, perceived realism of media representation of people with disabilities, perceived valence of media represen tations of people with disabilities as superhuman, perceived media representations of disability as illness, and perceived media representation of disability as disadvantage were entered in the second block. The interaction effects between perceived realism and perceived positive media representation of people with disabilities (the supercrip model), and perceived negative media representation of people with disabilities (the medical model and the social pathology model) were entered in the third block. Two factors of self-identity were entered as dependent variables, respectively.

The two regression models successfully predicted the two factors of perceived self-identity of people with disabilities as shown in Table 1. For the affirmation of self-identity (Factor 1), the model was successfully predicted by three predictors

Table 1

Variable Affirmation of self-identity Denial of self-identity
Block 1
Age Sex .02 .27 .06 .29
Ethnicity Adjusted R2 .09 .06 .05 .05
Block 2
Media use Perceived realism .10 .28 .03 .27
Supercrip representation Medical representation .68 .33 .51 .32
Social pathology representation Adjusted DR2 .12 .11 .08 .05
Adjusted R2 Block 3 .17 .09
Perceived Realism Supercrip Perceived Realism Medical Representation Representation .73 .14 .53 .11
Perceived Realism Social Pathology .18 .09
Representation Adjusted DR2 Adjusted R2 .07 .25 .06 .15
Note. For both models, N¼ 320. Sex was coded as 1¼male, 2¼ female. Coefficients are standardized betas.

p< .05.

p< .01.

p< .001.

10.96, p< .000; R2 ¼ .25), perceived media representation of people with disabilities as supercrip, perceived media representation of people with disability as illness, and the interaction between perceived realism and perceived media represen- tations from the supercrip perspective. The more individuals with disabilities per- ceived that media frame people with disabilities as supercrip, the more positive attitudes they had about themselves being disabled (b¼ 0.68, p< .000). The more individuals with disabilities perceived that media frame people with disabilities as ill victims, the more negative attitudes they had about their disability (b¼
0.33,
.021). An interaction effect was found between perceived realism and perceived media representation of people with disabilities as superhuman (b¼ 0.73,
.000; see Figure 1).
For the denial of self-identity (Factor 2), the model was successfully predicted by
three predictors (F¼ 6.54, p< .000; R2 ¼ .15) as shown in Table 1. The more indivi- duals with disabilities perceived that media frame people with disabilities as super- human, the more positive attitudes they had about themselves (b¼ 0.51,
.000). The more individuals with disabilities perceived that media frame disability as illness, the more negative attitudes they had about themselves as being disabled
0.32, p< .005). The interaction between perceived realism and perceived media representation of people with disabilities as superhuman (b¼ 0.53, p< .000) was also a significant predictor (see Figure 2). These results provide partial support for H4. Perceived positive portrayals of disability (the supercrip model) led people with dis- abilities to hold positive attitudes about their disability identity, whereas perceived negative portrayals of disability (the medical model) led to negative attitudes about their disability identity. Perceived realism was not an important factor predicting the media impacts on the perceived self-identity of people with disabilities. The level of perceived valence of media representation has the same effects on their identity when people with disabilities perceive media portrayals as highly realistic. When perceiving
Figure 1

Interaction effect between perceived realism and the supercrip model on affirmation of self-identity.

(color figure available online).

Figure 2

Interaction effect between perceived realism and the supercrip model on denial of self-identity. (color

figure a

media representation of disability community unrealistic, the more they believe media depict people with disability from the supercrip perspective, the more positive they think about their disability identity.

Discussion
Previous studies on media and disability are mainly focused on the media portrayals of people with disabilities (e.g., Clogston, 1990; Haller, 2010), the critical analysis of media representations of disability (e.g., Quinlan & Bates, 2008, 2009), and the effects of media on the stereotypes of people with disabilities among the public. Few empiri cal studies have been conducted on how the disability community views media repre sentations and what impact mass media have on their perceived identity. This study fills the gap by exploring how media and information processing factors influence the perceived identity among people with disabilities. It provides us with a snapshot of what people with disabilities think about their representations in mass media and demonstrates the power of media discourse in affecting the self-perceptions of people with disabilities.

Consistent with the results from previous content analysis studies (Clogston, 1990, Haller 1995), people with disabilities believed that mass media, in general, frame people with disabilities as supercrips, disadvantaged, or ill victims. Among these three dominant media representations, most of them are stigmatizing, except the supercrip model. These negative media representations reinforce the necessity for disability acti vists to openly discuss the disabling environment created by mass media and engage in an effort to promote changes in the social discourse about disability portrayals because media have the power to shape what public knows about disability.

Although representing people with disabilities from the supercrip perspective is relatively positive, there is lots of criticism about this kind of ââover the topââ media depiction. For example, Quinlan and Bates (2008) argued that depicting people with disabilities as supercrips creates false expectations and sets unattainable goals for dis ability community; and people with disabilities may feel inadequate if they cannot attain achievements or act like the supercrips portrayed in mass media. However, this study demonstrates that portraying people with disabilities as supercrips gives posi tive feedback to people with disabilities and affects their self-identity positively. Specifically, people with disabilities are more likely to develop positive and confident self-identity when exposed to media stories about the accomplishments of individuals with disabilities. This finding is consistent with SCT that perceived reward related to the observed behaviors can increase self-esteem (Bandura, 2001). Being aware of the fact that ingroup members have accomplished great achievements as implied by the supercrip model, people with disabilities can relate to the media messages and ââtake comfortââ and feel hope from the fact that supercrips succeed ââin spite ofââ a disability and, therefore, maintain a sanguine self-identity. It is interesting to note that such positive effects still take place even when people with disabilities perceive supercrip portrayals as unrealistic. This might be due to the fact that media representations of people with disabilities are predominantly stigmatizing (Haller, 2010). Only a few positive representations stand out and are more accessible in memory. When per ceived as highly salient, those representations of people with disabilities as supercrips play a significant role on the psychological states of disability communities, and can even override the information processing factor, such as perceived realism. This further indicates the importance of more balanced media representations of disability issues, especially relatively positive coverage.

On the other hand, when mass media frame people with disabilities simply as sickly and helpless victims, people with disabilities are primed with stigmatized aspects of being disabled, and feel that a disabled personâs life is inferior to, and less precious than, an able-bodied personâs life and hence hold low self-esteem about their self-identity. These findings suggest that the valence of media portrayals of people with disabilities can impact the identity of disability community. Positive coverage, such as the supercrip stones of achievement, helps people with disabilities take a balanced approach toward their identity, whereas negative coverage makes them not able to envision themselves properly. This indicates that mass media indeed can influence who we are and what we do.

These findings are important for news media professionals to understand that how they report a specific group of people has such profound impacts on that group. Today, as many content analysis studies show (Haller, 2010), many journalists, video graphers, and photojournalists still hold narrow views about people with disabilities, make subconscious assumptions about who they are, and are not trained to report on people with disabilities in a non-stigmatizing way. Today, news media still miss important and diverse stories related to disabled people because of their persistence in the stereotypical portrayals. The best way to portray people with disabilities is to not use a sticker or label, not to focus on their disability, but to report from their perspectives. After all, disability is just one part of a person and is one aspect of human diversity. Hopefully, disability advocates can use the results from this study to tell media creators the power of mass media on the stigmatized groups so that media creators will be more sensitive about how to cover people with disabilities and disability issues. Berube (1997) explained that media representations of people with disabilities affect everyone:

In the broadest possible sense, it affects our understanding of what it means to be human; in more practical terms, it affects public policy, the allocation of social resources, and the meaning of ââcivil rightsââ . . . . Every representation of disability has the potential to shape the way ââdisabilityââ is understood in the general culture, and some of those representations can in fact do extraordinarily powerfulâor harmfulâcultural and political work (pp. 4â5)

Limitations and Future Research
Despite the interesting findings of the study, several limitations of the study need be addressed. First, a convenience sampling instead of random sampling was used for the study, which affects the generalizability of the findings across the target popu lation. A probability sampling method will yield higher external validity. Second, the study was based on close-ended survey questions. Although it helped identify pat terns and trends in terms of the impacts of mass media on the identity of the people with disabilities, future studies could utilize focus group or interview method to explore the reasons behind the patterns identified in this study. Specifically, an inter view or focus group study would help better explain why mass media still have posi tive impacts on the identity of people with disability, although they are perceived as unrealistic. Third, the study utilized a self-reported method to measure the perceived identity of people with disabilities. The explicit measures can only capture attitudes after careful deliberation. Given the subject matter (disability identity), future studies should replicate this project using an implicit measure. Fourth, the identity of people with disabilities is always negotiated and in a state of becoming. Many factors could affect the identity of people with disabilities, such as education level, personal experi ence, and family communication. This study only approached this topic from a media effects perspective. It would be meaningful to conduct in-depth interviews with people with disabilities or an ethnography to get a better idea about their ident ify formation process. Fifth, this study only explored the impact of dominant media representations on the perceived identity of people with disabilities. However, besides those stereotypical media representations, some ââjust like everybody elseââ portrayals do exist. For example, the television show Little People, Big World features the lives of an ordinary family, some of whom are dwarfs. The show depicts everyday realities of being short-statured. Their ââdisabilityââ is at times mentioned but definitely not a focus of their lives. The show depicts how the family members go through life as reg ular people and deal with all of lifeâs usual problems. Therefore, it would be useful to study how people with disabilities perceive these run-of-the-mill portrayals and how such rare but valuable depictions affect their identity. Finally, because of the cross-sectional nature of the study, we must acknowledge that we cannot conclude that there were causal relations between media use and perceived identity among people with disabilities. The relation could be reciprocal. An experimental design or a longitudinal panel study would be more appropriate to test the nature of the causal relation.

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that’s the article