The Role of Exemplification in Shaping Third-Person Perceptions and Support for Restrictions on Video Games

Abstract

The origins of third-person perceptions remain uncertain, with most research focusing on psychological mechanisms. We investigate whether media content might also play a role, using a 2 × 2 experiment presenting a single story describing video games as harmful or harmless and using either research and statistics or a specific anecdotal exemplar to illustrate this claim. Results show perceived effects on others are influenced by the use of an exemplar but do not show an effect for explicitly describing games as harmful. The findings suggest that media may influence third-person perceptions and subsequent support for censorship in previously unexplored ways.

Notes

¹We included a measure asking participants whether they agreed (on a 7-point scale) that “the article argued that games aren't harmful.” Confirming the effectiveness of that manipulation, those reading the harmful story (M = 2.25) were far more likely to disagree than those reading the harmless story (M = 5.52, t = 16.19, p < .001). Rather than sensitize readers to exemplars, we evaluated whether participants (on a 7-point scale) “found the article interesting to read.” Consistent with research suggesting exemplar-driven stories are more engaging, such a story was rated (M = 4.32) significantly more interesting than the research-based story (M = 3.80, t = 2.61, p < .05).

Note. Numbers displayed in the table are the means of perceived negative effects of video games. In each row, values not sharing a capitalized subscript are significantly different based on paired t tests (p < .05). In each column, values not sharing a lowercase subscript are significantly different based on an independent samples t test (p < .05).

Note. The numbers in Table 3 show the F value for each variable. df = 1, 241 (for self); 1, 237 (for adults, adults-self); 1, 236 (for college students, students-self).

**p < .01. ***p < .001. †p < .1.

Note. Values given are raw means for each condition by level of play, with standard errors in parentheses. The numbers in the same column with the different subscript(s) are significantly different from each other, whereas the numbers in the same column with the same subscript(s) are not significantly different from each other.

Note. The numbers in the table show the unstandardized coefficients (and standard errors) for each variable. Model 1 includes experimental manipulations, level of game play, and additive and subtractive third-person measures. Model 2 includes these variables and interaction terms. N = 241.

*p < .05. **p < .01. †p < .1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mike Schmierbach

Mike Schmierbach (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004) is an Assistant Professor in the College of Communications at Pennsylvania State University. His research interests focus on the influences on perceptions of media, especially video games and new technology.

Qian Xu

Qian Xu (Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 2010) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communications at Elon University. Her research interests focus on the social and psychological effects of media technology, especially as they pertain to perception, information seeking and cognition.

Michael P. Boyle

Michael P. Boyle (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at West Chester University. His research interests include mass media and social protest, news coverage and implications of social conflicts and controversies, information seeking, and third-person perceptions and effects.