Predicting pluralistic ignorance: The hostile media perception and its consequences

Journalism and Mass Communication Quaterly

Volumn 78, Issue 4, 2001, Pages 688-701

  Gunther, Albert C ^a   Chia, Stella Chih Yun ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035650310     PISSN: 10776990     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/107769900107800405     Document Type: Article

References (49)

1. Warren Breed and Thomas Ktsanes, "Pluralistic Ignorance in the Process of Opinion Formation," Public Opinion Quarterly 25 (fall 1961): 382-92; Hubert J. O'Gorman, "Pluralistic Ignorance and White Estimates of White Support for Racial Segregation," Public Opinion Quarterly 39 (fall 1975): 313-30.
2. Warren Breed and Thomas Ktsanes, "Pluralistic Ignorance in the Process of Opinion Formation," Public Opinion Quarterly 25 (fall 1961): 382-92; Hubert J. O'Gorman, "Pluralistic Ignorance and White Estimates of White Support for Racial Segregation," Public Opinion Quarterly 39 (fall 1975): 313-30.
3. Donald Granberg and Edward Brent, "When Prophecy Bends: The Preference-Expectation Link in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1952-1980," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 45 (3, 1983): 477-91.
4. Richard L. Schanck, "A Study of a Community and Its Groups and Institutions Conceived of as Behaviors of Individuals," Psychological Monographs 43 (2, 1932): 1-133.
5. Charles Korte, "Pluralistic Ignorance about Student Radicalism," Sociometry 35 (1972): 576-87.
6. Lee Ross, David Greene, and Pamela House, "The 'False Consensus Effect': An Egocentric Bias in Social Perception and Attribution Processes," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 13 (1977): 279-301.
7. Though generally understood to mean a collective misimpression of public opinion, pluralistic ignorance can be defined in more specific and diverse ways. For reviews, see Jacob Shamir and Michal Shamir, ""Pluralistic Ignorance across Issues and over Time," Public Opinion Quarterly 61 (summer 1997): 227-60; Dale T. Miller and Deborah A. Prentice, "Collective Errors and the Culture of Honor: Explaining Southern Violence," Personality and Social Psychology 20 (5, 1994): 541-50; Hubert J. O'Gorman, "The Discovery of Pluralistic Ignorance: An Ironic Lesson," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 22 (4, 1986): 333-47.
8. Though generally understood to mean a collective misimpression of public opinion, pluralistic ignorance can be defined in more specific and diverse ways. For reviews, see Jacob Shamir and Michal Shamir, ""Pluralistic Ignorance across Issues and over Time," Public Opinion Quarterly 61 (summer 1997): 227-60; Dale T. Miller and Deborah A. Prentice, "Collective Errors and the Culture of Honor: Explaining Southern Violence," Personality and Social Psychology 20 (5, 1994): 541-50; Hubert J. O'Gorman, "The Discovery of Pluralistic Ignorance: An Ironic Lesson," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 22 (4, 1986): 333-47.
9. Though generally understood to mean a collective misimpression of public opinion, pluralistic ignorance can be defined in more specific and diverse ways. For reviews, see Jacob Shamir and Michal Shamir, ""Pluralistic Ignorance across Issues and over Time," Public Opinion Quarterly 61 (summer 1997): 227-60; Dale T. Miller and Deborah A. Prentice, "Collective Errors and the Culture of Honor: Explaining Southern Violence," Personality and Social Psychology 20 (5, 1994): 541-50; Hubert J. O'Gorman, "The Discovery of Pluralistic Ignorance: An Ironic Lesson," Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 22 (4, 1986): 333-47.
10. James M. Fields and Howard Schuman, "Public Beliefs about the Beliefs of the Public," Public Opinion Quarterly 40 (winter 1976): 427-48; Daniel Katz and Floyd H. Allport, Student Attitudes: A Report of the Syracuse University Research Study (Syracuse, NY: Craftsman Press, 1931).
11. James M. Fields and Howard Schuman, "Public Beliefs about the Beliefs of the Public," Public Opinion Quarterly 40 (winter 1976): 427-48; Daniel Katz and Floyd H. Allport, Student Attitudes: A Report of the Syracuse University Research Study (Syracuse, NY: Craftsman Press, 1931).
12. Ross, Greene, and House, "The 'False Consensus Effect.'"
13. Robert Vallone, Lee Ross, and Mark Lepper, "The Hostile Media Phenomenon: Biased Perception of Media Bias in Coverage of the Beirut Massacre," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49 (3, 1985): 577-85.
14. Albert C. Gunther, "The Persuasive Press Inference: Effects of Mass Media on Perceived Public Opinion." Communication Research 25 (5, 1998): 486-504.
15. Clifford E. Brown, "A False Consensus Bias in 1980 Presidential Preferences," Journal of Social Psychology 118 (1, 1982): 137-38; Robert Huckfeldt, Paul A. Beck, Russell J. Dalton, and J. Levine, "Political Environments, Cohesive Social Groups, and the Communication of Public Opinion," American Journal of Political Science 39 (1, 1995): 25-54.
16. Clifford E. Brown, "A False Consensus Bias in 1980 Presidential Preferences," Journal of Social Psychology 118 (1, 1982): 137-38; Robert Huckfeldt, Paul A. Beck, Russell J. Dalton, and J. Levine, "Political Environments, Cohesive Social Groups, and the Communication of Public Opinion," American Journal of Political Science 39 (1, 1995): 25-54.
17. Joop Van der Pligt, Peter Ester, and Joop Van der Linden, "Attitude Extremity, Consensus and Diagnosticity," European Journal of Social Psychology 13 (4, 1983): 437-39.
18. Donald Granberg," Attributing Attitudes to Members of Groups," in Attitudinal Judgment, ed. J. R. Eiser (NewYork: Springer-Verlag, 1984), 85-108; Hubert J. O'Gorman with Stephen L. Garry, "Pluralistic Ignorance - A Replication and Extension," Public Opinion Quarterly 40 (winter 1976): 449-58.
19. Donald Granberg," Attributing Attitudes to Members of Groups," in Attitudinal Judgment, ed. J. R. Eiser (NewYork: Springer-Verlag, 1984), 85-108; Hubert J. O'Gorman with Stephen L. Garry, "Pluralistic Ignorance - A Replication and Extension," Public Opinion Quarterly 40 (winter 1976): 449-58.
20. Ross, Greene, and House, "The 'False Consensus Effect.'"
21. See Gary Marks and Norman Miller, "Ten Years of Research on the False-Consensus Effect: An Empirical and Theoretical Review," Psychological Bulletin 107 (1, 1987): 72-90, for a review.
22. Vallone, Ross, and Lepper, "The Hostile Media Phenomenon."
23. Roger Giner-Sorolla and Shelly Chaiken, "The Causes of Hostile Media Judgments," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 30 (2, 1994): 165-80; Richard M. Perloff, "Ego-Involvement and the Third Person Effect of Televised News Coverage," Communication Research 16 (2, 1989): 236-62.
24. Roger Giner-Sorolla and Shelly Chaiken, "The Causes of Hostile Media Judgments," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 30 (2, 1994): 165-80; Richard M. Perloff, "Ego-Involvement and the Third Person Effect of Televised News Coverage," Communication Research 16 (2, 1989): 236-62.
25. Albert C. Gunther and Cindy T. Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press? Contrary Effects of Personal Opinion and Perceived News Coverage on Estimates of Public Opinion," Journal of Communication 52 (March 2002): 177-95.
26. Russell J. Dalton, Paul A. Beck, and Robert Huckfeldt, "Partisan Cues and the Media: Information Flows in the 1992 Presidential Election," The American Political Science Review 92 (1, 1998): 111-26; Albert C. Gunther, "Biased Press or Biased Public? Attitudes toward Media Coverage of Social Groups," Public Opinion Quarterly 56 (summer 1992): 147-67; Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
27. Russell J. Dalton, Paul A. Beck, and Robert Huckfeldt, "Partisan Cues and the Media: Information Flows in the 1992 Presidential Election," The American Political Science Review 92 (1, 1998): 111-26; Albert C. Gunther, "Biased Press or Biased Public? Attitudes toward Media Coverage of Social Groups," Public Opinion Quarterly 56 (summer 1992): 147-67; Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
28. Russell J. Dalton, Paul A. Beck, and Robert Huckfeldt, "Partisan Cues and the Media: Information Flows in the 1992 Presidential Election," The American Political Science Review 92 (1, 1998): 111-26; Albert C. Gunther, "Biased Press or Biased Public? Attitudes toward Media Coverage of Social Groups," Public Opinion Quarterly 56 (summer 1992): 147-67; Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
29. Gunther, "The Persuasive Press Inference."
30. Albert C. Gunther and Cindy T. Christen, "Effects of News Slant and Base Rate Information on Public Opinion Inferences," Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 76 (summer 1999): 277-92.
31. Diana C. Mutz and Joe Soss, "Reading Public Opinion: The Influence of News Coverage on Perceptions of Public Sentiment," Public Opinion Quarterly 61(fall 1997): 431-51.
32. Albert C. Gunther and Michael J. Hilton, "Predicting Misperceptions of Public Opinion about Environmental Issues" (paper presented at the annual meeting of Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, November, 2000); Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
33. Albert C. Gunther and Michael J. Hilton, "Predicting Misperceptions of Public Opinion about Environmental Issues" (paper presented at the annual meeting of Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, November, 2000); Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
34. Albert C. Gunther, Cindy T. Christen, Janice L. Liebhart, and Stella Chih-Yun Chia, "Congenial Public, Contrary Press and Biased Estimates of the Climate of Opinion," Public Opinion Quarterly 65 (fall 2001): 295-320.
35. Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann, "Turbulences in the Climate of Opinion: Methodological Applications of the Spiral of Silence," Public Opinion Quarterly 41 (summer 1977): 143-58.
36. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports (2000). http://www.census.gov.
37. K. G. Joreskog and D. Sorbom, LISREL 8: Structural Equation Modeling with the SIMPLIS Command Language (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1993).
38. Estimation of public opinion was normally distributed with a standard deviation of 21%.
39. We use the term "slant" here because we asked respondents to rate news coverage as favorable, unfavorable, or neutral. For many people, the former two judgments might imply a perception of biased news coverage. But for some, unfavorable coverage, for example, may not have been seen as biased coverage (although those respondents would still likely say such coverage had an unfavorable slant).
40. As a group, respondents who did not answer the question on slant of media coverage estimated that 50% of Americans were opposed to research using primates.
41. It is standard notation in structural equation modeling to represent relationships stemming from exogenous variables as gammas and from endogenous variables as betas. See Leslie A. Hayduk, Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL: Essentials and Advances (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987).
42. Equation models with good fit are generally expected to have a low and non-significant Chi-square statistic; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) of less than .05 and a normed fit index (NFI) of greater than .90 also indicate a good fit.
43. The same scenario might apply to many other issues, such as nuclear power, genetically modified foods, or new oil exploration, where "proponents" believe they represent the common good and that media coverage consists primarily of misguided criticism.
44. Gunther and Christen, "Projection or Persuasive Press?"
45. Gunther, "Persuasive Press Inference"; Gunther and Christen, "Effects of News Slant"; Gunther et al., "Congenial Public, Contrary Press."
46. Gunther, "Persuasive Press Inference"; Gunther and Christen, "Effects of News Slant"; Gunther et al., "Congenial Public, Contrary Press."
47. Gunther, "Persuasive Press Inference"; Gunther and Christen, "Effects of News Slant"; Gunther et al., "Congenial Public, Contrary Press."
48. Noelle-Neumann, "Turbulences in the Climate of Opinion"; I. Ajzen and M. Fishbein, Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980).
49. Noelle-Neumann, "Turbulences in the Climate of Opinion"; I. Ajzen and M. Fishbein, Understanding Attitudes and Predicting Social Behavior (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1980).