On the Effect of the “Third-Person Effect”: Perceived Influence of Media Coverage and Residential Mobility Intentions

Abstract

This study demonstrates that third-person perceptions regarding the influence of media coverage of peripheral towns indirectly affect the desire to consider moving. It is argued that regardless of whether people's perceptions of where they live are really shaped by media coverage, if people believe others are affected by this coverage more than they are, they are more likely to consider relocation. We investigated whether the perceived stigmatization of peripheral development towns in Israel has an impact on the desire of their residents to stay or leave, over and above the disaffection with actual living conditions in these communities. Using structural equation modeling (N= 472), we show that third-person estimations indeed influence both perceptions and behavioral intentions.