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social dynamics
You believe media affects everyone but you.
The third-person effect describes your tendency to estimate that media influence is significantly stronger on others than on yourself.
Researchers have observed this in diverse groups, from political voters to marketing audiences. You maintain an illusion of objectivity while assuming that the anonymous public is susceptible to manipulation. This bias reinforces your sense of personal autonomy.
You see other people as vulnerable while viewing yourself as immune.
Where this comes from
- Study
- W. Phillips Davison, 1983, Public Opinion Quarterly
- What the check found
- Davison's 1983 paper in Public Opinion Quarterly is the definitive source for this theory and the claim accurately summarizes the concept.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.