Third-Person Perception as an Impression Management Tactic

The current research aims at broadening the motivational explanations for the third-person perception (TPP) by documenting the role of impression management motives in this perception. In two experiments that were devised to explore this possibility, participants were asked to report in public or in private on their perceptions of how various advertisements affected them and others. In addition, their level of self-monitoring was measured, and they were divided into two categories—high and low. In line with the hypotheses, participants showed a larger TPP in public than in private. Moreover, while the public nature of the situation did not affect low self-monitors, high self-monitors reported a large TPP in public but no TPP at all in private. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the current findings for research on the causes and consequences of the TPP.