The Third-Person Effect of Online Weight-Loss Product Advertising: The Impact of Social Norms and Perceived Deception

• In Event: Diet, Exercise, Weight, and Health

Abstract

Despite the prevalence of unsubstantiated claims in online weight-loss product advertising, consumers in general tend to believe that they are less susceptible to deception than others. A survey of U.S. adult females analyzed the relationship between perceived deception, social norms, individuals’ product use, and the perceptual and behavioral components of the third-person effect. Results of a structural equation model (SEM) revealed that perceived deception predicted both third-person perception and support for online advertising regulation. Individuals’ personal use of weight-loss products and their perceived injunctive norms were negatively correlated with third-person perceptions. Findings are discussed in the context of their theoretical contributions to third-person effect research and their implications for online product advertising regulation.

Authors

• Joon Soo Lim, Syracuse U

• Guy J. Golan, Syracuse U

• Tamara Makana Chock, Syracuse U