Ch Four: Source Factors
The term "character" has changed to:
"Trustworthiness"
Over the years the term "intelligence" has changed to:
"expertise"
Credibility
A perception of believability
Dogmatism
A personality trait regarding how closed minded a person is
Authoritarianism
A personality trait regarding to the degree to which individuals rely on authority figures and sources to guide their lives
Trustworthiness
A primary dimension of credibility that refers to receivers' perceptions of the source's honesty
Expertise
A primary dimension of credibility that refers to the perceived knowledge and intelligence of the source
Factor analysis
A statistical method that allows research to identify which items of a scale measure the same thing
Referent power
Based in the relationship between two persons
Expert power
Based on how knowledgeable a person is
These are generally effective at getting short term behavior change, but not so good for changing attitudes and beliefs
Coercive and Reward Power
This can influence source credibility judgement as well
Delivery of message
Several other dimensions of credibility were identified such as:
Dynamism, charisma, and safety
Aristotle in ancient Greece argued that source credibility or what?
Ethos
When credibility manipulations are introduced BEFORE the message has been processed, the message has already been processed and information about the source will have little impact
False; after
Wanting to develop a better understanding of credibility and to test Aristotle's conceptualization of credibility, researchers used DIMENSIONS in several studies to identify the dimensions of credibility
False; factor analysis
Tamborini and Zillmann (1981) found that limited and appropriate use of GUILT could enhance receiver liking and trustworthiness of a source but not the expertise dimension
False; humor
Attractiveness does NOT often contribute to perceptions of credibility
False; it does
Similarity DOES NOT influence our willingness to model a source's behavior
False; it does
Power bases are equal
False; power bases are not equal
At times, similarity on the part of the RECEIVER can lead to greater persuasive success, but, at other times, similarity reduces persuasive effectiveness or seems sto have no effect
False; speaker
Liking of the source has been related to UNTRUSTWORTHY in some research studies, and it makes sense that we would DISTRUST those we like more
False; trustworthiness and trust
We tend to give strangers no benefit of the doubt and assume they know nothing about the topic in which they speak
False; we tend to give strangers the benefit of the doubt and assume anyone speaking on a particular topic is at least moderately credible
How many power-bases are there?
Five
To have the maximum level of credibility, a source would need to be perceived as having all three of these characteristics
Good character, goodwill, and intelligence
What are the three dimensions of source credibility?
Good character, goodwill, and intelligence
Topic Saliency
How important the topic of a persuasive message is to receivers
Kelman (1961) described this as a form of influence
Identification
Factors or Dimensions
Items that measure the same thing are called this
This power has to do with your position and title
Legitimate Power
A final source factor is this of the source
Likeability
Is credibility always judged the same?
No, credibility functions differently in different situations
Deutsch and Gerard (1955) found that this from group membership affected receivers' judgement, but only when the group was present and/or knew about the receivers' response
Normative influence
Reward power
One's ability to use rewards to influence another's behavior
This of a source is another source factors that plays a role in the persuasion process
Physical attractiveness
The ability to get others to do what you want and is a broad-based concept that includes many ways of communicating
Power
These two things are sometimes linked, but not always
Power and credbility
These two bases of power are developed over time as a result of how we conduct ourselves and are much more useful for influencing attitudes and beliefs
Referent and Expert Power
Pathos
Refers to the emotional appeals of the message
Intelligence
Refers to the knowledge base of the speaker, or, in other words, a source's expertise
Derived Credibility
Refers to the level of source credibility during and after the presentation of a particualr message
Good Character
Refers to the moral nature, the honesty and goodness, of the source
Ethos
Refers to the nature of credibility of the source, and some current credibility researchers use this term
Logos
Refers to the nature of the arguments and structure of the message
Goodwill
Refers to the speaker's intent toward the audience
The five power bases:
Reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert
The perceived BLANK of the source to the receiver is a source factor that enhances persuasion in some instances
Similarity
McCroskey and Young (1981) published and article that reviewed the previous 30 years of research on:
Source credibility and the methods used
Sleeper effect
Suggests that high credibility sources have more persuasive impact immediately following the message than do low credibility sources but that, over time, the effects of credibility wear off
Coercive power
The ability to use punishment to influence to influence a person's behavior
Initial Credibility
The credibility of a source prior to the presentation of a persuasive message
Initial credibiliity
The credibility of a source prior to the presentation of a persuasive message
Locus of control
The degree to which an individual perceives his or her life is controlled by internal factors or external factors
Message discrepancy
The difference between the position being advocated by a message and the preferred position of the receiver
Source
The individual creating and/or delivering a message
Legitimate power
The power one has because of his or her title or position
Burger (2009) concluded that people today are just as likely to obey an authority figure as they were in 1963
True
Different scholars measured source credibility differently, making it difficult to compare results and draw conclusions
True
For similarity to enhance persuasion, the similarity must be relevant to the persuasive goal
True
If the similarity is irrelevant to the persuasive goal, such as noting a similarity in painting experience when trying to persuade someone to by insurance, use of similarity is generally ineffective
True
Liking the source can be a factor; however, it is not as important as source credibility and other persuasion factors
True
McCroskey and Teven (1999) argued that the concept of goodwill was represented in construct
True
McCroskey and Young (1981) concluded that when measuring credibility, goodwill collapsed with character; therefore, character and intelligence were the two primary components of source credibility
True
Physically attractive people are often perceived as more credible
True
Physically attractive people tend to draw attention and will draw attention to an advertisement
True
Pretty things elicit positive feelings and affect
True
Research has indicated that when liking and credibility come into conflict, then credibility outweighs liking
True
Sources who have legitimate power are perceived as having authority and receivers are more likely to obey them, even when it goes against their better judgement
True
When the introduction of a speaker includes information about the source's education and experience, perceptions of credibility are often increased
True
With normative influence and identification, we are influenced because we associate ourselves with a group or individual we value
True
Message incongruity
When a message goes against (not congruent) with the source's interests or needs
Discounting model
assumes that initial attitude change is a result of both source credibility and message content; however, permanent attitude change is based on message content
