Research on the Third-Person Effect of Online Commercial Advertisements – Based on the Students from Guangzhou Huashang College

The third-person effect hypothesis has become one of the most important aspects in the research field within the American empirical school. A large number of studies have adopted empirical research methods to verify the reliability of the third-person effect. With the rise of the network society, local research on the third-person effect has gradually extended to the verification or falsification of the third-person effect in the network environment. This article begins with a study on the third-person effect of online commercial advertisements based on the students from Guangzhou Huashang College. Through the study, the research hypotheses have been proposed and questionnaires have been distributed to the research subjects for analysis. Based on a series of quantitative operations, such as data analysis, empirical observations, and empirical research, this study provides a source of reference and reflection for research in this field.

Predictors of third-person perceptions about media's influence on vaccination against COVID-19

PurposeThe present study aims to unveil the main predictors of perceived media influence (the third-person effect (TPE)) on people's opinions towards COVID-19 vaccination. While the TPE has been researched before in medical contexts, predictors of TPE on the topic of vaccination against COVID-19 are understudied.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a national survey using an online panel (N = 945) representative for the online population of Romania aged 18 or higher; data were collected during 1–9 April 2021.FindingsResults indicate that people perceive both close and distant others to be more influenced by media information related to COVID-19 vaccination topics. TPE perception is correlated with belief in conspiracy theories about vaccines/vaccination, perceived incidence of fake news about COVID-19 vaccines/vaccination, perceived usefulness of social networking sites and critical thinking.Originality/valueResults from this study might explain the success rate of some communication strategies employed with the help of the media. Key findings could be used as starting points for understanding the profile of those who underestimate the media's impact on themselves with respect to COVID-19 immunization and for designing more successful media strategies.

Perceived Impact of Ideal Thin Models in TV Advertisement and Behavioral Intention: a Case Study of China National Undergraduate Students in Malaysia

Globally, the influx of Western mass media in non-Western societies has coexisted with the beauty standard of the thin ideal. Therefore, body-image disturbance becomes an emerging issue in Chinese culture as well. Using surveys, this research investigated the perceptual discrepancy between the perceived impact of idealized thin models on self and on others according to the third-person effect theory among mainland Chinese overseas undergraduate female students in Malaysia. It found that respondents perceived that the thin models in TV advertisements exerted a greater impact on others than on themselves. The role of social difference and gender was demonstrated in determining the size of the perceptual gap. This perceptual gap could lead to dieting, excessive exercising, and the likelihood of liposuction undertaking as well as body dissatisfaction. Theoretically, it expands third-person effect theory in body image field in mainland China context. It also gives practical implications to solve body image disturbance among Chinese females.

Epistemic Overconfidence in Algorithmic News Selection

The process of news consumption has undergone great changes over the past decade: Information is now available in an ever-increasing amount from a plethora of sources. Recent work suggests that most people would favor algorithmic solutions over human editors. This stands in contrast to public and scholarly debate about the pitfalls of algorithmic news selection—i.e., the so-called “filter bubbles.” This study therefore investigates reasons and motivations which might lead people to prefer algorithmic gatekeepers over human ones. We expect that people have more algorithmic appreciation when consuming news to pass time, entertain oneself, or out of escapism than when using news to keep up-to-date with politics (H1). Secondly, we hypothesize the extent to which people are confident in their own cognitive abilities to moderate that relationship: When people are overconfident in their own capabilities to estimate the relevance of information, they are more likely to have higher levels of algorithmic appreciation, due to the third person effect (H2). For testing those two pre-registered hypotheses, we conducted an online survey with a sample of 268 US participants and replicated our study using a sample of 384 Dutch participants. The results show that the first hypothesis cannot be supported by our data. However, a positive interaction between overconfidence and algorithmic appreciation for the gratification of surveillance (i.e., gaining information about the world, society, and politics) was found in both samples. Thereby, our study contributes to our understanding of the underlying reasons people have for choosing different forms of gatekeeping when selecting news.

Collectivism and Altruistic Behavior: A Third-Person Effect Study of COVID-19 News Among Wuhan Residents

This study examines the third-person effects of COVID-19 news among Wuhan residents during the peak of the outbreaks in the city. Using data collected in a telephone survey of 1,071 Wuhan residents, results show that respondents believed others were more influenced by the COVID-19 news. However, the more the respondents systematically processed the news through elaboration and the more they were oriented toward collectivist values, the smaller the self-other perceptual gap. Finally, results suggest the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between perceived effects of COVID news and altruistic behavior—collectivism enhances the influence of perceived effects on others on adoption of altruistic behavior. The influence of culture in shaping risk perception and behavioral responses is discussed.

Fake news, information overload, and the third-person effect in China

Based on a national survey of 1111 Chinese citizens, this study analyzes how exposure to fake news and perceptions of information overload are associated with the third-person effect. The findings indicate that fake news exposure correlates with perceived information overload and third-person perceptions of fake news. Respondents with higher levels of perceived information overload also report stronger third-person perceptions. In addition, Chinese respondents who believe that fake news affects others more than themselves are less likely to support stricter controls of fake news.

Sensible Use(rs) and the Construction of Self-Identity in Research Interviews

As a much-used data collection method in qualitative research, interviewing is a primary way to make sense of social life. However, critics point out that interviews are often used uncritically and unreflectively, without considering epistemological foundations and self-presentation efforts by interviewees. By way of a two-step, theory-driven qualitative thematic analysis, this study examines how Belgian middle-aged and older adults (51-79 years old) construct their self-identity in research interviews as sensible internet users with regards to online health information (OHI) and their motivations for doing so. The findings are underpinned by a theoretical framework which enhances impression management (IM) theory with the third-person effect (TPE). The study finds that respondents engage in various IM behaviours, including instances of the TPE, to maximise positive impressions and minimise negative impressions. Through IM, interviewees 1) respond to critical questions; 2) proactively demonstrate knowledge, accomplishments, and positive outcomes; 3) compare and distance oneself from others; and 4) communicate limitations and offer external explanations. The findings contribute to the scant literature on IM in research interviews and among older adults and carry various implications for the field of health communication and beyond, such as the importance of critically reflecting on interviewing and going beyond the face value of the data.

Impact of Internet Pornography on Chinese Teens: The Third-Person Effect and Attitudes Toward Censorship

Based on the third-person effect hypothesis–people’s belief that the media influences others more than it influences themselves–we administered a questionnaire to Chinese teens ( N = 1,538) to discover the impacts of exposure to internet pornography on perceptions of pornography and attitudes toward censorship of pornography. The results validated the third-person effect hypothesis and showed that teens’ subjective perceptions of what constitutes internet pornography and their exposure to it are critical variables for predicting perceptions of negative impacts of pornography on self and others and affirmative attitudes toward censorship. The study also found that the impact on self is the best variable for predicting attitudes toward censorship. The discussion is framed in the context of Chinese collective culture and conservative attitudes toward sex.

Introduction

In contemporary Western societies, journalism often comes under fire. This is due in part to the increased economic threat posed to the profession by a steady decline in the consumption of news but also to increasing scepticism in the value of news and the media in general. This introductory chapter summarizes the theoretical approaches taken in this book, highlighting the unique contributions that a media psychological approach can make to our understanding of news-making and the construction of meaning. The chapter presents an overview of how psychology can contribute to our understanding of news, and it describes in relation to journalism uniquely media psychological constructs (parasocial interactions and the third-person effect). The chapter concludes with a chapter-by-chapter summary of the rest of the book.