Selective exposure attribution theory: Implications for better than average biases

The better than average effect refers to the tendency of individuals to perceive themselves as above average on various dimensions of social desirability (Messick, Boldizar, & Samuelson, 1985). Most research suggests that the effect results from motivations to inflate levels of self-esteem (Alicke, 1985). The present study challenged that an information-processing mechanism driven by selective exposure of persons to the behaviors of others may instead promote an overall negative dispositional asymmetry within a population. When subjects were asked to make assessments regarding a target's level of trait across situations permitting various levels of selective exposure, the data indicated an increased tendency to rate others more negatively when selective exposure was maximized. It was hypothesized that subjects had committed more "false negative attribution errors" and had corrected more "false positive attribution errors" upon drawing their conclusions.