" I WANT TO BE LIKE...".

The article presents a study which investigates the perception of middle school students about scientists on television in the U.S. The two-phase study analyzes the television portrayals of 196 scientists with the use of a coding scheme. It examines the portrayal of scientists on television in terms of professional and marital status, gender, and attributes. The study shows the prevalence of male scientist characters compared to female in television. It reveals that men and women scientists were portrayed in top scientific positions and their dominant attribute is intelligence. It also implies the significance of the study in teaching sciences to middle school.