Third-Person Effects on Political Participation

Abstract

The third-person perception is the tendency for people to believe others are more affected by media messages than they are themselves. Analysis of a probability sample telephone survey revealed a significant relationship between having voted in the 2004 presidential election and third-person perception level. This empirical evidence supports a link between past voting behavior and the third-person perception, which expands third-person perception and behavioral domains beyond censorship issues. Republicans were also found to have a significantly greater third-person perception level than Democrats.