Third-Person Effects of Health News: Exploring the Relationships Among Media Exposure, Presumed Media Influence, and Behavioral Intentions.

This study expands third-person effect research to health news coverage by examining the perceptual and behavioral components of third-person effects and the moderator variables of third-person effects-knowledge and exposure to health news. Using data from a survey of 1,107 college students in Taiwan about the coverage of avian flu, findings show that respondents tend to think the influence of avian flu news on others was greater than on themselves. Further, exposure to avian flu news was found to narrow the self-other perceptual gap. Regarding behavioral responses to the third-person perception, the study showed that the perceived effects of avian flu news on self prompted people to look for information about avian flu and to seek the antiviral drug Tamiflu. However, the third-person perception also acted as "a brake" on action. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]