The Second-Person and Third-Person Effects

Research on media perception explores how individuals evaluate the influence of media messages on themselves compared to others. While much attention has been given to the third-person effect, more recent studies have highlighted a complementary concept known as the second-person effect. The second-person effect refers to when audiences believe that others percieve the influence of media messages in a similar way (Frederick & Neuwirth, 2002). This concept expands the framework of media effects by recognizing that audiences do not always perceive media influence as unequal.

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Second-Person Effects

Frederick and Neuwirth (2002) define the second-person effect as “the degree to which people believe that the media have a similar influence on self and others” (p. 118). Additionally, they define the second-person effect using the term similarity rather than sameness, conveying a sense that the influence is shared, mutual or held in common (Frederick & Neuwirth, 2002).

According to DeLorme et al. (2008), Table 1 shows how the second-person effect compares to the first-person and third-person effects.

First-person effects	predicts greater effects on oneself than on others
Second-person effects	no significant difference between perceived effects on others and on oneself
Third-person effects	predicts greater effects on others than on oneself

Table 1

Examining Third-Person Effects

According to Dupagne & Salwen (1999), third-person effects predict that individuals perceive the media to have greater effects on other people than on themselves. Third-person effects summarizes the perceptual outcome as “you, not me are influenced” by mass media content (DeLorme et al., 2008, p. 187).

The third-person effect often uses the "difference term" in operationalization, wherein a positive score indicates the third-person effect (DeLorme et al., 2008). In contrast, as proposed by Frederick & Neuwirth (2002), the second-person effect has been historically measured using an "additive term," although this is debated.

1. The additive term (Frederick & Neuwirth, 2002)

   1. a shared influence of perceived effect on others + perceived effect on self

   2. may not represent second-person effects

2. The difference term (DeLorme et al., 2008)

   1. perceived effect on others – perceived effect on self

DeLorme et al. (2008) argues that "greater additive term scores do not necessarily mean a greater dgree of similarity between perceived effects on others and self" (p. 195).

Connecting Second and Third-Person Effects

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Both the second-person and the third-person effects are integral in research examining audience perceptions of media messaging. The three conceptualizations (third-person, first-person and second-person effects) all predict different outcomes in audience perceptions of the effects of media messages on self and others. Media effects are necessary when analyzing media content such as news stories, advertising, and social media messaging, as it reveals how perceptions of influence shape audience attitudes.

References

DeLorme, D. E., Huh, J., & Reid, L. N. (2008). Operationalizing the second-person effect and its relationship to behavioral outcomes of direct-to-consumer advertising. American Behavioral Scientist, 52(2), 186-207. 10.1177/0002764208321351

Dupagne, M. & Salwen, M. B. (1999). The third-person effect. Communication Research, 26(5), 523-549. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/10.1177/009365099026005001

Frederick, E. & Neuwirth, K. (2002). Extending the framework of third-, first-, and second-person effects. Mass Communication & Society, 5(2), 113-140. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327825MCS0502_2