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Do Third-Person Perceptions Amplify Exemplification Effects?
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The presumed underlying mechanism of exemplification effects is that people generalize single-case media depictions and overestimate their position of social relevance, while at the same time neglecting more valid base-rate information. A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment with n = 112 participants explored whether these exemplification effects can be explained by presumptions of strong media influences on others. Participants were shown a “rate my professor”-type website stimulus in which a single user had commented on a university course. Results show that fundamental assumptions of exemplification research interact with presumed media influences: exemplification effects can be amplified by third-person perceptions, particularly when people assess public opinion.
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... In a recent example of this finding, Yu (2012) observed that mothers believed that TV food advertising has more impact on other people's children than on their own. Scherr, Muller, and Fast (2013) found that German students perceived greater effects of exposure to Rate My Professor evaluations for students at other universities, than for students at their own university. Additionally, the degree to which the social distance of comparison bias include ego-enhancement (as explained above), selfpresentation (a strategy of trying to present oneself in a positive way), and exerting control (a strategy of making oneself feel more in control over their destiny). ...
This review explicates the past, present and future of theory and research concerning audience perceptions of the media as well as the effects that perceptions of media have on audiences. Before the sections that examine media perceptions and media effects perceptions, we first identify various psychological concepts and processes involved in generating media-related perceptions. In the first section, we analyze two types of media perceptions: media trust/credibility perceptions and bias perceptions, focusing on research on the Hostile Media Perception. In both cases, we address the potential consequences of these perceptions. In the second section, we assess theory and research on perceptions of media effects (often referred to as Presumed Influence) and their consequences (referred to as the Influence of Presumed Influence). As examples of Presumed Influence, we evaluate the literature on the Persuasive Press Inference and the Third-Person Perception. The bodies of research on media perceptions and media effects perceptions have been featured prominently in the top journals of the field of mass communication over the past 20 years. Here we bring them together in one synthetic theoretical review.
... Recent studies show that positive information leads to a more positive perception and attitude, whereas negative information has the opposite effect (e.g., Arpan, 2009;Peter, Rossmann, & Keyling, 2014;Winter, Brückner, & Krämer, 2015). Scherr, Müller, and Fast (2013a) examined exemplification effects in the context of an online rating site for university professors. They found that positive exemplars lead to a more positive perceived climate of opinion, personal opinion, and stronger intended actions than negative exemplars. ...
In recent years, the number of users on online physician rating sites has increased continuously. According to exemplification theory, user comments have a strong influence on individual judgments. Visualized base-rate information can constrain these effects. This study examines the impact of exemplars and base-rate information regarding physician rating sites on the perception and evaluation of doctors, as well as participants' behavioral intentions. To address this question, we conducted a 2 x 2 x 2 online experiment (N = 216). We developed eight alternative versions of a physician rating site, varying the valence of the exemplars (factor 1: positive/negative) and base-rate information (factor 2: positive/negative) and the type of presentation of the base-rate information (factor 3: bar graph/average grade). Our results show that the valence of both significantly influenced participants' recall, evaluation and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the negative bar graph led to a more accurate evaluation than the negative average grade. The strong impact of base-rate information limits the scope of exemplification effects in the context of physician online rating sites.
... Second, these findings challenge the assumption that media messages are objectively desirable or undesirable. Instead, presumed media effects are likely to interact with individual perceptions of media messages (e.g., with exemplification effects as shown by Scherr, Müller, & Fast, 2013) that in turn depend on individual factors as Valkenburg and Peter (2013) have pointed outsurprisingly, this is a fairly new perspective for research on third-person effects. For example, two independent studies found that depressive symptoms enhance first-person peceptions (Scherr & Reinemann, 2011;Scherr, 2016) both cross-sectionally and over time, which has been explained by the general tendency of depressed persons to internalize more and to less selfenhance. ...
In two experiments, this study presents a process model that explains third-person perceptions (TPP) as a function of perceived persuasive intent and reactance. Using two non-student samples, findings were internally replicated for two different topics. The study shows that media messages evoking perceptions of persuasive intent also activate reactance, which in turn predicts TPP topic-independently. Remarkably, half of the total stimulus effect on TPP could be explained through reactance, which offers new implications for existing theoretical explanations of strong TPP after undesirable messages but weak effects after, e.g., prosocial messages.
... The perceived controllability of risk is defined as the perceived control that people have over exposure to hazards (Botterill & Mazur, 2004). Assuming that risk perception is influenced notably by pre-existing knowledge (Scherr, Muller, & Fast, 2013), the stakeholders' perception of their control in preventing a hazard to occur or to spread may be explained by the fact that our sample mainly consisted of experts. In contrast, this seems divergent with climate a One respondent could have more than one field of competency. ...
An online survey was conducted to describe stakeholders' perceptions, attitudes and practices towards risk prevention in the food chain and to explore if common features could be extracted from different fields of competency or groups of stakeholders. Out of 80 participants, 60% believed that pathogenic microorganisms were the main hazard to prevent. Twenty-four percent perceived climate change as the main risk factor. Seventy-three percent believed that hazards in the food chain are preventable and they often showed a positive attitude towards risk prevention measures. The opinion of 75% of stakeholders was that prevention measures should be compulsory and under the shared responsibility of both food business operators and competent authority. Seventy-five percent of the respondents had recent experience with particular hazards and declared to have undertaken risk reduction measures. Incentives to implement measures were policy obligation and public health consequences whereas barriers were budgetary reasons and doubts about their effectiveness. However, there was not always a complete agreement between the perceived usefulness of risk prevention measures and their effective implementation, and conversely. No significant difference could be observed in the perceptions, attitudes and practices towards risk prevention between neither groups of stakeholders nor their fields of competency. The results are important for improving the risk communication process because the same issues can be emphasized when promoting risk prevention in the food chain regardless of the type of food sectors and the groups of stakeholders.
Explanations for the third-person phenomenon generally hinge on either self-favoring biases or cognitive mechanisms. While controlling for common perceptual factors, we demonstrate an additional cognitive component: exemplar availability, using a 2-study design. The first considers the third-person perception in the context of media-generated stereotypes. The second considers 3 distinct types of advertisements meant to evoke varied third- and first-person perceptions. Results of both studies showed that the ability to think of examples serves as the most consistent predictor, even after accounting for the influence of perceived exposure and similarity.
Exemplification theory has been used to explain media and message effects across a variety of domains. However, the theory has been critiqued for lacking empirical support for many of its predictions and underlying assumptions. In this paper, we review exemplification theory, contrast exemplars with narratives, and report the results of a meta-analytical test of one of exemplification theory’s predictions. We found that individuals exposed to messages featuring exemplars reported stronger persuasion outcomes than individuals exposed to base-rate or non-exemplar messages ( d¯ = 0.26, k = 26, N = 5480). Our results provide additional evidence for one of the predictions of exemplification theory, support for the use of exemplars in persuasive messages, and suggest directions for future exemplification research.
Recommendations for communicators to make environmental issues more concrete in public align with the tenets of exemplification theory. Audiences may also engage with messages that they perceive as influencing them more than others, an outcome that aligns with the third-person effects framework. What is not well known is how these two areas of research intersect, namely, how exemplars about environmental issues may impact perceived message influence on the self-relative to others. This study examines the effects of testimonials on the perceived influence of environmental messages. Two experiments, each conducted simultaneously in Singapore and the Midwestern US, suggest that university students perceive themselves to be more influenced than others by proenvironmental messages. The second experiment shows that this perceptual bias is related to message desirability and individuals’ environmental values. Both experiments reveal location-specific effects, which is useful for understanding how to communicate environmental problems to global audiences.
Research suggests that journalists’ beliefs about media effects are influenced by unsystematically gathered knowledge and subjective-intuitive judgments. However, it has also been shown that these presumptions must be considered important factors for the formation of journalistic coverage. Against this background, this article synthesizes existing research on dimensions, determinants, and consequences of journalists’ presumptions of media effects. The resulting framework offers researchers in the field of journalistic content production a comprehensive overview of the possible role that presumptions of media effects could play for journalistic content creation. In a second step, we summarize the implications that the current state of research points at. We discuss why journalism scholars should integrate presumed media effects into their research agendas and what communication researchers as well as journalists themselves could do to promote more realistic beliefs about media effects among journalists.
This study examines variations in perceptions of media influence based on the locus of impact (self vs. other) and the valence of the message (pro-social vs. anti-social). After reading one of four versions of rap lyrics either advocating or condemning violence or misogyny, 406 undergraduates filled out a survey measuring the perceived impact of songs with that type of lyrics on themselves and on other students. Results replicated previous findings of a third-person perception for the anti-social messages. Based on an ego-enhancement motivational explanation, it was predicted that there would be a reverse third-person perception for the pro-social messages. The findings did not support this hypothesis, and for the pro-social message regarding the treatment of women, a traditional third-person perception was found. However, consistent with the ego-defensive motivational explanation, the size of the third-person perception differential was significantly greater for anti-social than for pro-social messages. Implications of these findings for explanations of the third-person perception were discussed.
Self Versus Others explores the third-person effect and its role in media as a means of persuasion. This scholarly work synthesizes more than two decades of research on the third-person effect, the process in which individuals do not perceive themselves to be impacted by particular messages-such as persuaded to engage in risky behaviors or encouraged to be violent-but they believe others will be. Authors Julie L. Andsager and H. Allen White focus their analysis specifically on the role of media and media messages, and assert that the third-person effect functions as a means of persuasion. They explore the underlying concepts and connections this effect shares with established theories of persuasion and mediated communication. The only volume to date focusing on the topic, Self Versus Others demonstrates the significant impact persuasion has on public opinion, behavior, and policy. As such, understanding the means through which persuasion can be accomplished thereby provides a powerful tool. Timely and succinct, this book: provides thorough synthesis of third-person effect literature; argues that systematic versus heuristic processing underlies third-person perceptions;. and. conceptually links third-person effects with co-orientation. Intended for communication scholars with an interest in persuasion, as well as those in key areas including mass communication, health communication, and political communication, this book is also appropriate for advanced courses in persuasion, communication theory, and campaigns. © 2007 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
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The origins of third-person perceptions remain uncertain, with most research focusing on psychological mechanisms. We investigate whether media content might also play a role, using a 2 x 2 experiment presenting a single story describing video games as harmful or harmless and using either research and statistics or a specific anecdotal exemplar to illustrate this claim. Results show perceived effects on others are influenced by the use of an exemplar but do not show an effect for explicitly describing games as harmful. The findings suggest that media may influence third-person perceptions and subsequent support for censorship in previously unexplored ways.
After exposure to statistical information and/or samplings of exemplifying cases in a news report on health risks, quantitative impressions and associated affective dispositions were examined in persons differing in arithmetic competence. Whereas the variation of such competence was without appreciable effect on incidence estimates, it markedly influenced affect-mediated assessments of empathy with victims, safety risks, and protective concerns. Specifically, exposure to sets of pertinent exemplars fostered higher assessments by persons of lower numeric ability than by persons of higher numeric ability. In addition, all presentations involving exemplars fostered stronger affective assessments than did the presentation of statistical data alone. The findings suggest that variation in numeric competence is associated with distinct differences in information processing that serves the formation of affect-mediated risk-related assessments. Implications for cognitive processing styles are considered and applied to the design of informative and persuasive media campaigns.
An experimental 3×3 factorial design was used to test the ability of exemplars to prime public opinion on an issue that was controversial, the issue of a prayer in school amendment. The experiment focused on changes in perception of current public opinion and future public opinion as well as changes in personal opinion. Perception of public opinion among Alabamans was affected by a disproportionate distribution of exemplars as was perception of future public opinion nationally. Actual opinion also varied positively with exposure to different exemplar distributions.