The Role of Media Use and Misinformation Perceptions in Optimistic Bias and Third-person Perceptions in Times of High Media Dependency: Evidence from Four Countries in the First Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Issue 3 (4th May 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: van der Meer, Toni G. L. A.; Brosius, Anna; Hameleers, Michael
• Is Part Of: Mass communication & society. Volume 26:Issue 3(2023)
• Page Start: 438
• Page End: 462
• Publication Date: 2023-05-04
• Subjects: Mass media -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Mass media and culture -- Periodicals; Communication -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Communication and culture -- Periodicals; Journalism -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Médias -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Médias et culture -- Périodiques; Communication -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Communication et culture -- Périodiques; Presse -- Aspect social -- Périodiques; Communication and culture; Communication -- Social aspects; Journalism -- Social aspects; Mass media and culture; Mass media -- Social aspects; Periodicals; 302.23
• DOI: 10.1080/15205436.2022.2039202
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1520-5436

Abstract

ABSTRACT: When societies are struck by large-scale disruptions, biases in citizens' personal risk assessment and the spread of misinformation are often reason for concern. As a contribution, this study aims to link individuals' biased perceptions of self-other asymmetry—i.e., optimistic bias in risk assessment and third-person perception regarding undesired media influence—to different patterns of news consumption and misinformation perceptions. To study these phenomena, we distributed an online survey in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic among citizens from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and Germany ( N = 1, 912). The findings offer consistent support for bias beliefs: Compared to others, citizens from all four countries perceived themselves as less vulnerable to health and financial risk—i.e., optimistic bias—as well as the influence of misinformation—i.e., third-person perception. In a next step, we provide novel insights into how general news use can be associated with lower optimistic bias regarding perceived personal risk, while intentional exposure to issue-specific information and misinformation perceptions can relate to higher optimistic bias and third-person perceptions. These relationships were found to differ across individual countries. Overall, this study provides novel insights into how media use and perceptions relate to perceived invulnerability to potential harm, which, in turn, might impede pro-social intentions during crises surrounded by the omnipresence of misinformation.