Parents’ third person perceptions – p. 2
Abstract
Using the framework of the third person effect, this study examines parents'
perceptions of the influence of a youth-targeted telenovela, on their own versus other
children. Survey data (N = 132) demonstrate that parents perceived the show to have
greater impact on other children than on their own. Consistent with prior findings on
"the social distance corollary" of the third person effect, the perceived influence of the
show was stronger for children who were more socially remote from one’s own. In
addition, regression analyses show that parents who thought that the show had an
influence on their own children tended to monitor their child's TV viewing. In
contrast, parents concerned about the influence on other children tended to monitor
and examine their child's choice of friends.
Convention