ABSTRACT
Research on the social effects of mass communication has advanced markedly by examining individuals' perceptions of media messages and public opinion (Davison, 1983; Fields & Schuman, 1976; Glynn, Ostman, & McDonald, 1995; Mutz & Soss, 1997; Noelle-Neumann, 1974; O'Gorman & Garry, 1976; Sears & Freedman, 1967; Tyler & Cook, 1984; Vidmar & Rokeach, 1974). Among these approaches, Davison's (1983) the "third-person effect" has generated considerable research (for reviews, see Lasorsa, 1992; Perloff, 1993, 1996). The third-person effect's perceptual hypothesis, also known as the self-other discrepancy, perceptual bias, or the third-person perception (Davison, 1996; Perloff, 1993; Salwen, 1998), predicts that people will perceive a persuasive media message to have greater persuasive effects on others than on themselves. I Although the perceptual hypothesis has
yielded robust empirical findings, research to adequately explain how people perceive themselves to be smarter and less resistant to media messages than others has yet to be done. Researchers have also failed to identify the contingent factors that might enhance or diminish the perceptions. The failure of predictive models to provide a clear explanation led one scholar to declare the third-person effect "a phenomenon without a clear process explanation" (Mason, 1995, p. 612).
