The Third Person Perspective (TPP) is a cognitive phenomenon in which an individual will typically perceive themselves to be less susceptible to media effects than those around them. Generally when we analyse media that appears to be impactful on a particular group, it is easy to conclude that the group is more susceptible to media than you are. While it may be true that a particular form of media may be influential to some, we fail to acknowledge that other forms of media effect us just as often. This is frustrating reality for anyone (and this goes for most) who have assumed that others are simply less clever or aware when in reality we are all equally susceptible to varying types of media we interact with.
In trying to better understand the root cause of this effect, I searched for the defining factors driving this behavior. What this effect comes down to is the combination of two significant factors: The desirability of the message and the social distance between those of which a comparison of the media effects is taking place. In terms of message desirability, an individual interpreting the media will take into consideration their own feelings on the topic of which it is associated with. If the individual likes the message/perceives it to be positive, the more likely they are to assume that it would not have a significant effect on others. Conversely, if the message is perceived as negative, the more likely an individual is to assume that others will be susceptible to it.
The other prominent factor, social distance, suggests that an individual will have a predisposed biased when assuming media effects on groups socially further away than them self. Essentially, someone is less likely to assume significant media effects in regards to their own friends as opposed to individuals from another state or country. The more narrow the scope of comparison is, the less likely we are to make negative assumptions.
The Third Person Perspective is a particularly interesting topic not only because of its applicability in studying media but as an aspect of social psychology as a whole.
Hi Anthony -- Sorry I did not see your post in time to include in our class discussion on Tuesday. As a reminder -- reading responses are due at noon the day before class unless you have a work conflict and have spoken to me about it. So unfortunately this post won't count toward the 5. If our due date conflicts with your work schedule though, please see me immediately so we can work something out for your future posts. Thanks!
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