The third-person effect describes an abnormality in our perception and assessment of other people, to the effect that we tend to underestimate them – just like they underestimate us.
Whether man, woman or diverse, whether talented in math, geography or manual work, whether reading mouse or series junkie, we all have one thing in common: We don’t see the world as it is, but just a tiny little part from a perspective that covers many things distorted. Basically, we can assume that we are usually wrong. In almost everything we think about.
This is not dramatic at all because, as the past few millennia have shown, we can live just fine with our cognitive endowments, including distorted perception. However, here and there it can be interesting, useful or reassuring to be aware and know a little bit about it – and to know about the third-person effect, for example.
What is the Third Person Effect?
The third-person effect describes a perception error that most people are apparently subject to to a greater or lesser extent and which has now been proven in several studies: People generally assume that the media affects other people in a more negative way than they do themselves. In a positive way, however, not – there, they believe, it is exactly the opposite.
For example, if we see a worrying trend on Instagram—people digging up earthworms and sticking the poor critters up their noses—we’re more likely to think others are following the trend than we are. And we shall assume that many more people imitate him than actually do.
If we then see just a few more posts on Instagram in which someone sticks an earthworm up their nose, we think that all of a sudden, apart from ourselves, almost everyone in society has gone mad. Although in truth only 0.00026 percent of our fellow human beings have followed the scary earthworm trend.
Slightly more realistic examples are advertising, violent films or unhealthy beauty trends on social media: while we consider ourselves immune and media savvy enough not to be negatively influenced, we worry about all the strangers who choose to buy overpriced massage balls , to a killing spree or an eating disorder.
On the other hand, if we see a recycling campaign, a call for donations or a clip about bee-friendly balcony plants, we believe that we are almost the only ones who use four different waste bins, donate five euros to a good cause or our buzzing, distantly related fellow earthlings provide a colorful flower bed.
Sure: The third-person effect will be more pronounced for some people than for others. However, the tendency to underestimate others when dealing with media compared to oneself is obviously fundamentally human, at least that is what several studies suggest.
Third-person effect as an example of a fundamental principle
Although the third-person effect primarily relates to media consumption and impact, the underlying pattern seems to shape human self-evaluation in other areas as well. For example, many people often mistakenly assume that they have to help others, explain something or give advice – because they tend to unconsciously assume that they themselves are more competent than others.
When they see conflicting views, most people first think that the others are wrong before they look for the fault in themselves. And even with people we know well, we often find it hard to trust them to take care of themselves and let us know when they need us, so that instead we rush them, or at least worry and rack our brains. In the latter case, other things will certainly play a role, such as love, but in general we can assume: We tend to underestimate those around us compared to ourselves.
Psychologists see this pattern as a strategy for protecting our self-esteem: It is important for our mental health or for a solid sense of self-esteem that we feel special, competent, needed and useful. If we went through life with the view that we can’t do anything that everyone else couldn’t do and didn’t have the slightest unique and unique added value to offer the world, we constantly doubted the meaning of our existence. And would become a threat to ourselves.
Seen in this light, it might even be fatal if we weren’t subject to perceptual errors such as those whose principle corresponds to the third-person effect. Possibly.
So let’s conclude: Contrary to our beliefs, we can basically assume that we are about as screwed up by the media as the screwed up rest of our society – or just as insensitive to them or just as educated, inspired and informed.
We can basically assume that we should trust other people more than we do, and that there is a high probability that they will also underestimate us. Knowing this gives us neither a decisive survival advantage nor does it answer existential questions. But it can be interesting, useful or reassuring here and there. And sometimes that’s enough.
Sources used: lexikon.stangl.eu, Kontrast.at, sueddeutsche.de