Między potrzebą bycia poinformowanym a dążeniem do niezależności sądów
Between the Need to Be Informed and Aspirations to Independent Judgment

Summary/Abstract: Individual cognitive representation of social reality is constructed by media news content, as well as by direct interpersonal contacts. The media impact on people’s perception and social attitudes is associated with a psychological motivation to be “like the others,” the need of social validation. On the other hand, people believe that media have a grater effect on other people’s attitudes and behaviors than on their own (the third-person effect). In the article three explanations for that effect are shown: self-enhancement explanation, situational attribution for one’s own behavior, and perception of others as less attentive to the credibility of media messages. In addition, examples of research on the social perception of consistent one-sided media bias (i.e. the phenomenon of hostile-media and its predictors) are also presented. The role of others’ (political opponents in particular) negative perception, social distrust and a certain level of ego-involvement seem to be the most important predictors of the hostile-media effect. In the end of the article the positive role of media in the creation of people’s cognitive awareness and openness is discussed.

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