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A sample of 118 U.S. 6th and 7th graders was used to examine early adolescents' views of whether video games negatively influence themselves, others of the same age, and younger others. Six specific games ranging in rating from E for Everyone to M for Mature were listed for the early adolescents to respond to, with questions asked about both potential influence and whether young people should be allowed to play the games. Results support a third-person perception that grew as the rating of the game became more restrictive and as the ''other'' group in question became younger. The presence of rules set by parents about video game use was a positive predictor of perceptions of influence on self and others.Few areas in recent communication research have garnered as much attention as the third-person effect, first introduced by Davison (1983). A meta-analysis of the perceptual hypothesis-individuals' belief that others are more adversely affected by media than themselves-affirmed the robustness of this finding (Paul, Salwen, & Dupagne, 2000). There is also some evidence, albeit inconsistent, that presumed influence on others can be associated with increased support for regulation of media, termed the ''behavioral'' hypothesis of the third-person effect (Paul et al., 2000;Perloff, 1999).The current study adds a new dimension to the body of knowledge on thirdperson effects by examining the role that an established video game ratings system has on early adolescents' perceptions of potential influence. In doing so, the study extends third-person effect research in three ways. First, it explores the phenomenon in a sample of young people, for whom explanations for how third-person perceptual judgments are formed and whether such judgments relate to attitudes toward rules and regulations (the ''behavioral hypothesis'') are less clear in the existing research. Second, it measures third-person perceptual differences when young respondents are

This study examined the MPAA's assertion that sexual and violent content are treated equally when rating a film. It was hypothesized that sex and violence are not treated equally based on a content analysis of 210 sequences from 13 films consisting of material present in unrated or NC-17-rated-but not in R-ratedversions of the same film. It was hypothesized that more sexual sequences than violent sequences would be removed from R-rated films. The findings supported the hypotheses.

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