• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.35
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• pp.362-393
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• 2006

The purpose of this manuscript was to investigate the effects of issue involvement and relation of perceivers to comparison targets on the magnitude of third person perceptions. The investigation was expected to help us to understand the underlying process of third person effect hypothesis. Data was collected from adult residents in Ohio, United States by telephone survey in 2003(n=524). Like most other third person effect studies, this study supported the hypothesis: Respondents perceived more media effects on others than themselves for both 'Negative media portrayals of smokers' and 'News coverage of Roman Catholic priest's sexual scandals'. Results of five hypothesis tests suggest that when relationship between a perceiver and a particular comparison target is present third person perception is explained more by cognitive components than motivational components. In this case, third person perception varies with comparison target's issue involvement while it is independent of social distance between the perceivers and the comparison target. Also, perceivers' issue involvement positively correlates with the magnitude of third person effect. Based on the results, it is concluded that when perceives or a comparison target is involved in a message cognitive processes accounting for the relationship can impact the magnitude of third person effect. An important theoretical implication of the study is that third person effect is, to some extent, related with framing effect and priming effect.