Examining the Perceptual Gap and Behavioral Outcomes in the Perceived Effects of Polling News in the 2008 Taiwan Presidential Election.

Abstract

The ubiquity of polls in elections has led to decades of research on the impact of polls on the public. This study examines impact of news about polls in the 2008 Taiwan presidential election from a third-person effect perspective. Results of a survey using a random sample of 1,079 college students indicate that they perceived news about election polls to have a greater effect on others than themselves regardless the effects were perceived as negative or positive. Furthermore, findings show that attention to election poll news enhanced the perceived positive effects on self and others. In addition, poll credibility was found to be linked to perceived effects on self and others. The less credible elections polls were thought, the larger the self-other perceptual gap. Finally, concern about the negative effects of election poll news on others was found to trigger protective behavior. However, perceived positive effects of such news on self resulted in discourse engagement about the election