Perceived media bias and third person effect: Comparisons of Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans in the United States

Hee Sun Park, Doshik Yun, Hye Jeong Choi, Hye Eun Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The current study examined the third person effect (TPE) in relation to media coverage of the shooting incident at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (i.e., Virginia Tech.) in April of 2007. TPE refers to tendency to perceive that media coverage influences others (i.e., the third persons) to a greater extent than self (i.e., the first person). Three groups (non-Korean Americans, Korean Americans, and Koreans living in the United States) were compared with one another for their perceptions of media coverage. Specifically, this study investigated how much individuals perceived media to influence themselves versus the American public and the Korean American public. Additionally, the current study examined the extent to which individuals' focus on the shooter and their perceptions of media bias were related to TPE. The results showed support for TPE in terms of media coverage resulting in negative feelings toward Korean Americans and Koreans. As individuals focused more on the shooter and also perceived greater media bias against Korean Americans, they thought that the media coverage of the incident would be more likely to influence the American public to have negative feelings about Koreans and Korean Americans.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)139-149
Number of pages11
JournalSocial Science Journal
Volume49
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2012

Keywords

  • Korean americans
  • Koreans
  • Perceived media bias
  • Third-person effect
  • Virginia tech shooting

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