Media exposure, perceived stereotype accessibility, and national image formation: experimental and short-term panel evidence from Chinese perceptions of Germany.

BACKGROUND: In highly mediated environments, individuals often form impressions of foreign countries through indirect information rather than direct experience. Drawing on social cognition theory, this study examines how media exposure contributes to national stereotype formation through perceived stereotype accessibility and whether media literacy functions as a boundary condition. METHODS: Three complementary studies were conducted among Chinese university students using Germany as the empirical case. Study 1 developed and preliminarily validated a context-specific measure of perceived stereotype accessibility and assessed the measurement properties of the core constructs. Study 2 employed an experimental design to test the causal effects of media exposure on perceived stereotype accessibility and stereotype content. Study 3 used a two-wave short-term panel design to examine the proposed relationships under temporal separation. RESULTS: Across the studies, media exposure did not directly shape overall national attitudes. Instead, it increased the perceived accessibility of stereotype-related representations, which subsequently influenced national stereotype content. This indirect effect was primarily reflected in competence stereotypes rather than warmth stereotypes and was replicated across experimental and short-term panel contexts. Media literacy weakened the effect of media exposure on perceived stereotype accessibility, thereby reducing the downstream influence of media exposure on stereotype formation. CONCLUSION: The findings identify perceived stereotype accessibility as a key cognitive mechanism linking media exposure to national stereotype formation and demonstrate media literacy as an important boundary condition. The study contributes to research on media effects and national stereotyping by clarifying how mediated information becomes cognitively accessible and shapes stereotype content.