The Third-Person Effect Over Time: Support for Censorship in a Highly Regulated Media Environment (TOP PAPER)

• In Event: Advances in Third Person Effect Research (TOP PAPER ENTRY)

Abstract

Support for regulation of media content as a consequence of biased perceptions of media influence has been studied extensively. However, support for censorship in relation to third-person perceptions and other factors has only been examined at a single point in time. This paper presents findings from the first longitudinal study of the third-person effect, and it does so using a rigorous specification of the relative contribution of perceptions of influence on self and others. It uses nationally representative samples from Singapore and examines perceptions of sex and nudity in films, which are allowed but regulated. Comparing independent probability samples from 2001 and 2013, it is evident that while demographic factors changed, culturally linked self-construals, perceptions of media influence and support for censorship did not. As expected, a more interdependent self-construal and the third-person perception predicted support for censorship, as did assessments of total media influence. The pattern of prediction was quite consistent from Time 1 to Time 2, and by controlling for multiple influences a slight increase in support for censorship becomes manifest. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical significance and the context of study.

Authors

• Benjamin H. Detenber, Nanyang Technological U

• Sonny Rosenthal, Nanyang Technological U