Listeners perceive sources as credible for a variety of reasons, but most listeners have an opinion on the topic before the source even appears. This is commonly defined as surface credibility, and as credibility that derives from initial judgments based on surface traits such as a person’s appearance (Fogg, 2003). B.J. Fogg also discusses transactional credibility, which he defines as the credibility that is established during the time of interaction (Fogg, 2003). Social conformity plays a role in source credibility, and five characteristics have the greatest impact on an audience: expertness, reliability, intentions, dynamism, and personal attractiveness. When an audience finds the five characteristics in a source, the source is then perceived as more credible (Griffin, 1967).
In another study performed by Yoon, expertise, trustworthiness, and attractiveness were analyzed to measure the amount of influence on an audience. When an audience or listener finds the source to be trustworthy and an expert in the topic, the listener is less likely to question the source’s credibility (Griffin, 1967). Yoon also found when a listener is attracted to the source it is perceived as more credible than when a listener
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Terminal credibility is ranked on a scale of high and low; if the listener felt the source was credible it ranked as high terminal credibility and if the source was considered to have low credibility it ranked as low credibility (Griffin, 1967). Research also suggests that gender plays a role in the source’s credibility. Noel & Allen (1976) found through their research that writings from female authors are associated with lower quality. Individuals also rated males as more expert but less trustworthy. While most research is inconsistent, Burkhar (1989) found that women are often associated with higher credibility in writing, accuracy, and
Ethos, or the appeal to credibility and ethics, sways others to believe in a certain idea and to participate in the action as a way to further support
Even the best arguments have no effect on an audience that does not trust the speaker. Many speakers attempt to establish their ethos through mentioning accolades that establish them as experts. While this can build credibility, this type of communication is weaker than one that emphasizes a mutual understanding to create a personal connection. In her opening statement, Quindlen claims that she sees herself as part of the audience (294). She uses
Reading about how the way information is given to an individual can alter someone’s opinion on a particular idea or product was fascinating to me. I thought about how this relates to my everyday life and how individuals form their own personal opinions based on what they know before hand or how they identify with something. For instance, in the subsection The Blind Leading the Blind Gladwell discusses how when performing a taste test for competitors in the soft drink industry the problem may not even be the taste of the product. A consumer could just be uninterested in the way a product is presented to them. When relating it to how I perceive the opinions of others in the real world I had a new way to understand how an opinion is subject to change depending on how information is presented relating to that topic to
…the character [ethos] of the speaker is a cause of persuasion when the speech is so uttered as to make him worthy of belief, for as a rule we trust men of probity more, and more quickly, about things in general, while on points outside the realm of exact knowledge, where opinion is divided, we trust them absolutely (qtd. in Haskins 44).
Authenticity is important as it is widely accepted that speakers are more believable and convincing when their responses are deemed by the audience to be real, ‘fresh’ and unscripted (Montgomery, 2001). However, as analysed above, the existing measure of authenticity seems to be flawed. A measure of how persuasive a persona is instead of how authentic it is may then be used as a yardstick to analyse personae. The study of the use of a new criterion in place of the measure of authenticity can be carried out to develop the persona analysis further.
In addition, there are four ways to enhance the orator’s credibility is by competence, sources, nonverbal delivery and vocal expression. Competence is the ability to annex any comment in the appropriate place of the speech, it is important to let know the audience why they can trust the speaker and what he/she is saying. The second way to enhance credibility is to use evidence for respected sources. A non verbal delivery is important to enhance orator’s credibility, given that it comes from the audience’s observation. The last one is the vocal expression, credibility is compelling when using the correct volume and the sound of your
The elaboration likelihood model (ELM) of persuasion is a theory of persuasion that focuses on how the audience interprets logic, evidence, reasoning, and other factors of the speaker or speech. Direct and indirect routes are both methods that contribute to the ELM approach. Direct persuasion route requires giving the audience arguments and evidence to make them think about how a product is a necessity to them, such as gas that can make a car go faster, food that can make a person meet his or her weight loss goals, or insurance that can give practical help to someone who needs it. Indirect persuasion is the usage of other tactics that appeal to the audience without them necessarily realizing it. The audience can use their intuition to be drawn in by a speaker’s charm, a catchy jingle, or a picture of a celebrity using the
Nicolas Carr’s article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” implies that the internet is reprograming our brains, making us unable to enjoy deep reading. Carr explains that his mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Lately, he’s had a hard time enjoying books. Carr continued that many of his friends who are also literary types are experiencing the same “phenomena”. The more they use the web the more they have to fight to stay focused when reading long pieces of writing. Carr says that even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb.
Persuasion is a process by which the persuader, through communication, gains the approval or support for the topic (Let's Compare Motivate and Persuade, 2013). The arguments to motivate this change in thinking comes through careful use of rhetoric, but one must also be able to define the six principles of persuasion in social psychology: “Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Commitment and Consistency, Consensus, and Liking” (McLean, 2010, p. 521) and be able to recognize them as they are taking place. Then, one must carefully apply these concepts in order to find the means to effectively facilitate persuasion (p. 518).
When someone tries to persuade others to join in thinking or believing something, a process takes place. Those receivers of the information are to process what the source is saying and in turn decide whether or not to go along with the idea. But what if people do not always process information, and what if they merely go with the crowd? The Elaboration Likelihood Theory (ELM) developed by Social psychologists Petty and Cacioppo, illustrates how persuasion, or the presentation of facts in order to move someone or thing a certain way, takes place. This model “analyzes the likelihood that receivers will cognitively elaborate,” in other words break down the information gathered and determine whether or not the message is enough to persuade the receiver (Enfante, Rancer & Avtgis, 2010, p. 172).
The ability to convince an audience that a speaker is knowledgeable, trustworthy, and has their best interests at heart.
One psychological phenomenon I found throughout the documentary was the confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is an inclination to search out evidence that confirms our beliefs and to ignore evidence that contradicts our beliefs. This usually occurs when someone has a flawed interpretation of a suspect’s verbal and nonverbal behavior. “Scores of research studies demonstrate that once we form a strong belief about someone, we tend to both seek out information that confirms that belief, and to dismiss information that contradicts that belief. As research on wrongful convictions indicates, police sometimes misperceive innocent suspects as guilty because the suspect did not behave the “right way” when questioned.” (Costanzo 54) In chapter 3 (Lie
Another assumption is that being able to identify with the traits of the speaker can persuade the audience to agree with the speaker’s argument. This means that the audience is receptive to the speaker’s portrayals
Speaker Credibility: Has anyone seen the Documentary film called “An Inconvenient Truth”? I was amazed at how the earth was rapidly changing for the worse. This is why I choose this topic, to learn more about climate changes and inform everyone here about the climate change.
Demir, Muge. "Importance Of Ethic, Credibility And Reliability In Online Journalism." European Journal Of Social Science 24.4 (2011): 537-545.