Third-Person Effect, Gender, and Pornography on the lnternet

Abstract This study examined the role of gender in the third-person effect in the context of Internet pornography. The results indicate that most respondents believe Internet pornography has a greater negative influence on others than on themselves. Female respondents tend to perceive greater negative effects of Internet pornography on other males than on other females, and they are readier to support restrictions of Internet pornography. Finally, the magnitude of perceptual bias appears an unreliable predictor of support for media restriction, which may help explain the mixed results in previous studies. This novel gender-differential approach strengthens the growing literature on the third-person effect.