Who are others in the third-person effect? : downward comparison toward a smoking issue among non-smokers and smokers

Abstract

With regards to the third-person effect, the purpose of this paper is to answer the fundamental question ‘who are others?’ when assessing the perceived effects of anti-tobacco advertising and cigarette advertising. The particular interest in this study is investigation of the underlying mechanism of the third-person effect between non-smokers and smokers by applying the social comparison theory to the third-person effect. Findings indicate that, in terms of overall third-person effect judgments, people are inclined to consider as others those persons sharing similar demographic characteristics including gender, race, and age. However, in terms of smoking status, people have a tendency to contrast themselves with other smokers rather than non-smokers, regardless of whether or not they themselves smoke. Moreover, the first-person effect toward an anti-tobacco advertisement was found amongst non-smokers, but it was not found amongst smokers. The magnitude of the third-person toward a cigarette-advertisement effect was greater among non-smokers than it was among smokers.