Susceptibility and severity - Perceptual dimensions underlying the third-person effect

The authors posit that 2 distinct perceptual dimensions underlie the third- person effect hypothesis: judgments of susceptibility to communications (a cognitive process) and severity of communications (an affective process). T o explore this, 194 adults were asked (a) to estimate their own and others' susceptibility to various types of advertising content and the severity of such advertising's effects on themselves and others, and (b) to express th eir willingness to censor these classes of commercials. The advertising con tent fell into 2 broad categories: controversial products (cigarettes, liqu or and beer) and gambling services (casinos and lotteries). Findings indica te that third-person perceptions exist in terms of susceptibility and sever ity, and that both of these perceptual biases are related to individuals' w illingness to censor advertising.