PERSUASION SOCIAL INFLUENCE & COMPLIANCE GAINING Robert H. Gass & John S. Seiter

Chapter 4 Credibility

CELEBRITY & ATHLETE ENDORSERS Celebrity endorsements are common Nike spent $10 billion on endorsements in 2016 Americans live in a “celibritocracy” Third-person effect Consumers underestimate the effect of advertising on themselves Consumers overestimate the effect of advertising on others Effectiveness of celebrity endorsements based on consumers’ ages

HOW CELEBRITIES HELP Brand equity: endorsers enhance the value of a brand Match-up hypotheses: the endorser must be a good fit with the brand Meaning transfer perspective: endorser qualities “Rub off” on the brand  Leonard Zhukovsky / Shutterstock.com

WHAT IS SOURCE CREDIBILITY? Credibility defined: “Judgments made by a perceiver (e.g., message recipient) concerning the believability of a communicator” (O’Keefe, 2002) Receiver-based construct: credibility is in the eye of the beholder Multidimensional construct: credibility is a composite of source characteristics Credibility is situation specific, contextual in nature Credibility is dynamic: it can change over time, sometimes even suddenly

Primary Dimensions of Credibility Expertise Is the source knowledgeable? Is the source competent? Trustworthiness Is the source honest, sincere? Is the source reliable, dependable? Goodwill Is the source caring, considering? Is the source warm, personable? rangizzz/Shutterstock.com

SECONDary Dimensions of Credibility Dynamism Is the source energetic, enthusiastic? Composure Is the source cool, calm, and collected? Sociability Is the source friendly, outgoing? Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock.com

Credibility as a peripheral cue Low-involvement enhances credibility’s effectiveness Low-involved listeners defer to authorities Highly involved listeners focus less on source factors Highly involved listeners focus more on message content

SLEEPER EFFECT Discounting cue: a source is disconnected from the message “I heard somewhere…” “I don’t remember who said it, but…” Following disassociation of source and message message from a high cred source tends to decrease in persuasiveness A message from a low cred source tends to increase in persuasiveness Amount of attitude change

SLEEPER EFFECT--continued Absolute sleeper effect Relative sleeper effect initial pre-test delayed post-test High credibility source Low credibility source With discounting cue Amount of attitude change

IMPRESSION MANAGEMENT People seek to project a favorable image They seek to manage others’ impressions of them Facework involves negotiating positive, negative face needs Likeability produces favorable impressions Twinsterphoto/Shutterstock.com

IMPROVING YOUR CREDIBILITY Be prepared; research the topic thoroughly on all sides Cite evidence and sources of evidence Explain your qualifications to speak on the topic Build trust with your audience Display goodwill toward your audience Adapt your language style to your listeners and the context Avoid a powerless language style Emphasize similarity, commonality Increase audience involvement in the topic or issue