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Explaining Individual Differences in Third-Person Perception

A Limits / Possibilities Perspective

JOCHEN PETER

Research on social perception and a reassessment of findings from third-person research suggest that an individual's tendency to third-person perception is constrained by his or her perceptual position. For some people (e.g., the less well educated), it is probably less easily possible to perceive others as more susceptible to media effects than themselves. These kinds of constraints were investigated using data on third-person perception of television viewing behaviors (which is analogous to third-person perception of media influences). The authors found that people indeed showed a weaker tendency to third-person perception if they were in a less favorable position to do so, given their own viewing behavior and their attitudes. The limits / possibilities perspective seems useful for integrating research findings and may enhance our understanding of individual differences in third-person perception.

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