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

2. Chapter 4
Credibility

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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