The third-person effect and the acceptance of threatening road safety television advertising: are current advertisements ineffective for male road users?

The classic TPE proposes that individuals exposed to a media message will perceive the communication as being of more relevance to and greater influence on others than on themselves. This study explored whether classic or reverse third-person perceptions were associated with threatening road safety advertisements. Drivers viewed two threatening advertisements targeting speeding and drink driving and subsequently completed a questionnaire measuring their perceptions and future driving intentions. Results indicated a significant gender difference with females reporting reverse third-person perceptions (that is, the messages were more relevant to themselves than others) and males reporting classic third-person perceptions (that is, the messages were more relevant to others than themselves). Theoretically, it extends upon contemporary understanding of factors influencing message acceptance in the fear appeal literature. It suggests that threatening advertisements whilst relevant for some segments of the audience may not be relevant for the entire audience. (Author/publisher) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. E210298.