Examining Third-Person Perception in Advertisements within the Context of Optimistic Bias: A Comparison of Turkey and Canada

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the interaction between the concepts of third-person perception and optimistic bias - which are highly based on psychology - in the context of suggestive advertisements and purchase intention. For that purpose, data was used drawn via a survey from Canadian and Turkish university students using the convenience sampling method. A 2X4 MANOVA was used for analyzing the data. According to the results, individuals' cultural background and optimistic bias levels have no interaction effect on perceptual and behavioral gap when the product is hedonic. For functional products on the other hand, these two factors have a marginally significant interaction effect on the perceptual gap and a significant interaction effect on the behavioral gap. It is expected that the results obtained will contribute to the knowledge of researchers and practitioners who study the effects of media in the context of culture, advertisement, and consumer behavior.