A Test of the Third-Person Effect in Public Relations: Application of Social Comparison Theory

Abstract

Based on a social comparison theoretical framework, this study explores the third-person effect in public relations and examines situational variables such as message topic, message valence (i.e., positive versus negative), perceived desirability of being affected by the message, and receiver characteristics. A lab experiment (n=229) was conducted. This study provided additional empirical evidence of the prevalence of the third-person effect in the context of positive and negative news releases.