The Second-Person Effect And Its Role In Formation Of Active Issue Publics

This article explores the idea that the media encourage audience members to see issues as affecting both themselves and other members of the community-a perception termed second-person effects. The authors argue that second-person perceptions are an integral step toward the formation of active issue publics and significant predictors of a person's willingness to engage in behaviors necessary to resolve an issue. Results also show that second-person effects predominate when predicting intentions to take actions to address an issue. Thus, this supports the proposition that second-person effects are it key component in understanding the formation of active issue publics.