Third-Person Effect

Coined by W. Phillips Davison in 1983, the term thirdperson effect refers to people's tendency to perceive others (the “third” person) as more susceptible to media effects than themselves. This tendency is assumed to lead individuals to take action, for example, to support the regulation of media content that may have undesirable effects. The third-person effect thus consists of a perceptual component (usually called third-person perception) and a behavioral component. The third-person perception is typically seen as a self–other perceptual bias: People are prone to assume that something undesirable—for example, being influenced by media—applies to others rather than to themselves. This assumption may be right at the individual level. At the aggregate level, however, the assumption is logically inconsistent: The majority of people claim that the majority of people are more strongly affected by media than they themselves are.

Although empirical research on the third-person effect effectively started only in 1988, more than 80 published correlational and experimental studies and a meta-analysis have confirmed the robustness of the third-person perception since then. Researchers have documented the third-person perception regarding issues as diverse as political advertising, Internet pornography, and the Lewinsky affair. Moreover, evidence from different cultural contexts tentatively suggests that the third-person perception is a universal perceptual tendency although recent research has pointed out that a collectivist orientation typical of some Asian cultures may reduce third-person perceptions. Finally, studies have shown that the third-person perception is insensitive to methodological influences such as question order.

To study the factors that affect the emergence and strength of third-person perception, researchers have focused essentially on three domains: the features of the media message and its effects, the characteristics of the self, and the (perceived) characteristics of the others. In terms of the features of the media message, persuasive, incredible, and biased media content with a negative valence has been found to generally increase third-person perceptions. Incredible sources and persuasive or biased media genres—for example, political advertisements—also boost third-person perceptions. An important role for the emergence of thirdperson perceptions is played by the social desirability of the media effects in question: If media effects are socially undesirable, third-person perceptions occur. However, the reverse third-person perception—people perceive themselves as more strongly influenced than others—only erratically emerged when media effects were socially desirable.

Regarding the characteristics of the self that influence third-person perception, research has shown that self-perceived knowledge about an issue, the belief that one is better educated than others, and greater selfesteem augment third-person perceptions. Further, people's involvement in (emotionalized political) issues has generally increased the size of third-person perceptions. People's gender, age, and media exposure are usually unrelated to third-person perceptions.

In terms of the (perceived) characteristics of others, early research consistently showed that third-person perceptions increase as the others become socially more distant. For example, the third-person perception is bigger for “the public at large” than for “friends.” Recent studies, however, have challenged the so-called social distance corollary. Various studies have shown that people draw on relevant social knowledge, including stereotypes and schemas about out-groups, when they assess media effects on others. For example, the perceived exposure of others to particular media [Page 790]content has been shown to be a better predictor of the size of third-person perception than has social distance. Moreover, stronger effects for groups of remote others have been found to result from larger group sizes in addition to social distance. Finally, others' perceived predispositions toward accepting or imitating media messages, the relevance of media messages for others, and negative stereotypes about out-groups have appeared as promising explanations of third-person perceptions.

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