COMS 3500 - Chapter 8

opinion leader

Someone others turn to for advice and information

fabricated homophily

A fake sense of similarity that is created between two people when they are being honest about who they are and what their attitudes, beliefs, and values are

homophily

Actual or perceived similarities between two individuals

demographic homophily

Actual or perceived similarities between two individuals based on physical and social characteristics that are objectively identifiable (age, sex, religion, socioeconomic status, etc...)

attitude homophily

Actual or perceived similarities between two individuals based on the degree to which a person perceives another person to share her/his attitudes, beliefs, and values

background homophily

Actual or perceived similarities between two individuals based on the similarity of life experiences

interpersonal attraction

Degree to which we are drawn toward another person

competence

Dimension of credibility that refers to the degree to which a person is perceived to be knowledgeable or expert in a given subject

goodwill

Dimension of credibility that refers to the degree to which we believe that a source cares about our well-being

trustworthiness

The dimension of credibility that is concerned with the honesty of the source

physical attractiveness

The extent to which we are drawn to an individual based on her or his external physical features

social attractiveness

The extent to which we are drawn to an individual based on our desires to associate with that individual in a social atmosphere (party, having lunch, getting a cup of coffee, etc...)

task attractiveness

The extent to which we are drawn to an individual based on our perception of her or his usefulness to us in completing a specific task

principle of homophily

The more similar two people are, the more likely they are to attempt to communicate with one another, the more likely their communication will be successful, and the more similar they are likely to become

person perception

The process an individual goes through when he or she is making decisions about how he or she feels about another person

basic attribution error

When we attribute the causes of our own behavior, particularly our bad behavior, to external factors and the causes of another person's behavior to internal factors