Melissa Baddie
28 September 25
Article Review #1
Review of: Aggressive Reality Docuseries and Cyberbullying: A Partial Test of Glaser’s Differential Identification Theory
While the overwhelming trend of reality television has become increasingly more popular on mainstream television over the years, the creators have also become innovative with their cast member dynamic. Although the catalyst for viewership support is due to the audience in part imagining themselves as reality television characters (Godlewski, 2010).The evolution of the reality docuseries has exposed cast members private lives, personal behaviors and interactions with others. The interplay amongst personnel on these docuseries is what has led to the review of this article. The authors of the article identified specific psychological social behaviors that cast members engaged in using technology and categorized it, they applied them to two different theoretical frameworks to test their hypotheses. The social behavior was broken down into one category and four subcategories which are the following: cyberbullying (i.e., flaming, trolling, airing dirty laundry, public shaming).
According to the article, it was determined that these negative behaviors were the main ingredients to reality docuseries such as The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Love & Hip Hop Atlanta ( (Coyne, 2012); (Denhart, 2018); (Glascock, 2018); (Scharrer, 2018); (Nielsen, 2017)). The authors dissent towards these claims stood on the principle of skepticism, referencing how “African American women are depicted as overly aggressive and hypersexual”, in addition to other stereotypical roles such as demanding, bossy, angry Black woman and keen to incite confrontation (Tyree, 2011). The article continues by citing additional sources that refer to African Americans on aggressive reality docuseries (ARD) to contribute to maintenance of a racialized status quo and promoting self-destructive and violent behavior (Lundy, 2018).
In order to counter this statement, the authors of this article elected to use the theoretical framework differential identification for their hypotheses (Glaser, 1956). The origins strive from the theory that people learned delinquent or criminal behavior from frequent exposure, more specifically face-face contact (Sutherland, 1934). Glaser argued that delinquent behavior did not need face to face interaction with one another. Instead, his belief was identification theory, more specifically that an individual develops a fondness toward a real or imaginary person whom they perceived as similar to themselves. These similarities can be simple belonging to the same race, ethnic, or social class groups or sharing the same gender (Stratton, 1967). Glaser believed that deviant behavior was learned from strangers and known subjects, due to the kinship the individuals identified with them, and frequency of contact did not matter whether it was face to face or not. The articles hypotheses are independent variables, the first is testing whether Sutherland’s theory of viewing ARDs wasn’t related to cyberbullying (H0). The second was to confirm Glaser’s differential theory of ARDs characters and cyberbullying. The theories were tested against each subcategory of cyberbullying (i.e. flaming, trolling, airing dirty laundry, public shaming).
The research method used was a quantitative method from a self-administered survey. The participants were students enrolled in criminal justice courses at a historically Black college, in the southeastern region. There was a total of 210 students who participated, completely voluntary. The question was read out loud in multiple classes, students were directed to a link for the survey, you had to be over 18. During the preliminary, if the student advised they had taken the survey in another class, then they could not proceed. The survey had questions pertaining to cyberbullying behaviors to measure the study’s primary predictor variables (frequency of ARD viewing and ARD character identification) and controls (age, gender, and race).
The results were supported by Glaser’s’ theory that deviant behavior is learned through frequent contact via real or fiction and doesn’t need face to face. The study also showed awareness to media bias in television programming, often depicting African Americans in stereotypical view. The continued celebration of ARDs may perpetuate the societal systems of cybersecurity such as criminal justice, social and education. Unfortunately for those who haven’t had any contact with African Americans may believe ARDs as their behavior and not entertainment. The positive contributions of research studies assist with informing society through awareness, innovation and staying informed.