Mass Communication Theories Lecture 7 Third-person effect Dr. Vasyl V. Kucherenko

Third-person effect as… … a reaction to the anticipated effect of media content on others; ... a perceptual distinction that the media will not be influential upon ourselves, but rather will be influential on others. explains people’s support for limiting free expression on a variety of issues

David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart (2011) - censorship refers to a desire to restrict communication by political power with the specific goal of preventing certain perceived harmful effects. “When the third person effect leads you to condone censorship, take a step back and imagine the sort of messages people on the other side might think are brainwashing you. And then ask yourself if those messages should be censored too.” David McRaney, You Are Not So Smart (2011)

a “reverse third-person effect,” or a “first-person effect”. A third-person effect is found if people report that others are influenced more than they themselves are by the mass media. When the media influence oneself (‘me’) more than others, it is typically termed a “reverse third-person effect,” or a “first-person effect”.

The most important TPE determinants 1. Desirable vs. undesirable media content One of the key factors that contribute to the third-person effect is how the media content itself is perceived If one sees being influenced by mass media in general as an undesirable event, (s)he may likely perceive oneself as not being influenced by media messages. Desirable messages were more likely to influence oneself (‘me’) than others, and undesirable messages were more likely to influence others than oneself (‘me’).

2. Social distance ‘people just like me’ ‘people not at all like me’ A kind of self-serving out-group bias: one’s own group is evaluated more favorably than out-groups. As similarity to a person increased, the size of the third-person effect decreased.

1. Perception of one’s own ability to understand events 3. Perceived knowledge (‘cognitive distance’) - so-called ‘subjective competence” - not actual knowledge about a particular topic (‘objective competence’) 1. Perception of one’s own ability to understand events 2. Confidence in one’s abilities to form correct opinions on particular topics “Other people do not know what we know. Therefore, they are more likely to be influenced by the media”.

How common is the third-person effect? Not found for all respondents in every study on the third-person effect. - Typical proportions of research participants reporting third-person effect range from 35% to 69% in previous research. A reverse third-person effect, was typically found in proportions of 5% to 20%. - ‘No difference’ ranged from 19% to 60% of respondents

TPE is a form of the self-serving bias We’re excusing our failures – there are always serious reasons for that (but not for the failures of others) We see ourselves as more successful and more intelligent, than we are in reality We see ourselves as more skilled than our co-workers / classmates etc. We see ourselves as better drivers than average drivers We see ourselves as more attractive than other people of our age We are likely to live longer than the people we grew up with

“Media direct attention outward, to the mass media audience and the undesirable influence that audience may experience” (Gunther & Schmitt, 2004) The resulting inference - that the audience must be affected by the media - is itself a media effect.

Reflections due to Monday, November 21, 11:00pm (23:00) Home readings: Textbook: Baran, S. J., & Davis, D. K. (2012). Mass communication theory: Foundations, ferment, and future. (Chapter 10: Spiral of Silence, pp.298-302) Articles to be added.