MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION AS INSTRUMENTS IN FORMING GENDER-EQUAL PUBLIC CONSCIOUSNESS: A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

In this article, media and communication are discussed as a tool in the creation of gender-equal public consciousness with a psychological aspect to it. It states that gender equality is impossible to establish only with the help of legal and institutional processes and needs to be changed within the social perceptions, attitudes, and cognitive schemas. The research is based on the social learning theory, gender schema theory and media psychology, the study examines the impact of media representations and communication processes on internalization of gender norms and stereotypes. The role of digital media and communication framing in implicit attitudes formation is given particular attention. The article concludes that the psychologically informed media communication can play a role in the creation of the sustainable gender-equivalent public consciousness.