On the Persuasiveness of Similar Others: The Role of Mentalizing and the Feeling of Certainty

Faraji-Rad, Ali; Samuelsen, Bendik M.; Warlop, Luk

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2655550

Cited by 7 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…One important question, however, is whether the observed differences in depth of disclosure might yield meaningful downstream marketing implications. Prior work would suggest, for example, that content written in a more self-disclosing manner would lead readers to feel a greater sense of similarity to the writer, which may result in content that is more persuasive to outside readers (Jiang et al 2010; see also Faraji-Rad et al 2015). In Study 2 we therefore tested for the robustness of the effect in a domain in which self-disclosure might have material impacts on consumer behavior: online restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor.…”

Section: Study 2: Does Self-disclosure Matter? An Analysis Of Online mentioning

confidence: 99%

Full Disclosure: How Smartphones Enhance Consumer Self-Disclosure

Melumad¹,

Meyer²

2020

Journal of Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Results from three large-scale field studies and two controlled experiments show that consumers tend to be more self-disclosing when generating content on their smartphone versus personal computer. This tendency is found in a wide range of domains including social media posts, online restaurant reviews, open-ended survey responses, and compliance with requests for personal information in web advertisements. The authors show that this increased willingness to self-disclose on one’s smartphone arises from the psychological effects of two distinguishing properties of the device: (1) feelings of comfort that many associate with their smartphone and (2) a tendency to narrowly focus attention on the disclosure task at hand due to the relative difficulty of generating content on the smaller device. The enhancing effect of smartphones on self-disclosure yields several important marketing implications, including the creation of content that is perceived as more persuasive by outside readers. The authors explore implications for how these findings can be strategically leveraged by managers, including how they may generalize to other emerging technologies.

show abstract

Section: Study 2: Does Self-disclosure Matter? An Analysis Of Online mentioning

confidence: 99%

Full Disclosure: How Smartphones Enhance Consumer Self-Disclosure

Melumad¹,

Meyer²

2020

Journal of Marketing

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Research based on social comparison theory reveals the positive effect of source similarity on persuasion (Faraji-Rad, Samuelsen, and Warlop 2015; Yaniv, Choshen-Hillel, and Milyavsky 2011). Specifically, homophily, or similarity between individuals, facilitates information transfer, attitude formation, and interpersonal interaction, leading to better communication and greater influence on the information seeker’s decision (Gilly et al 1998; McPherson, Smith-Lovin, and Cook 2001; Yaniv, Choshen-Hillel, and Milyavsky 2011).…”

Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The reasoning is that homophilous ties make it easier for an individual to relate to similar others, thus increasing the likelihood of activating a peer review flow of information (Brown and Reingen 1987). Faraji-Rad, Samuelsen, and Warlop (2015) argue that similarity influences the advice-taking process by shaping the feeling of certainty. Huang and Chen (2006) show that online peer recommendations have greater influence than expert recommendations on consumer choices for books, which represent an experience product.…”

Section: Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Differential Effects of Online Peer Review and Expert Review on Service Evaluations

Keh

Sun

2018

Journal of Service Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present research investigates the differential effects of online peer review and expert review on consumers' evaluations of experience and credence services. We propose that these effects are mediated by consumers' confidence in their service evaluation and moderated by information convergence. We conduct three studies to test our hypotheses. Study 1 shows that consumers evaluate experience (vs. credence) services more favorably when exposed to peer review (vs. expert review). Across the three studies, we show that the interaction effects between information source and service type on service evaluation are mediated by consumer confidence. Importantly, we identify the moderating role of information convergence on these effects (Studies 2 and 3). Convergent positive reviews substantiate the interaction effects between information source and service type on service evaluation. Interestingly, when consumers see mixed information from either similar or different sources, negative expert review has greater influence than negative peer review in lowering consumer confidence and their evaluations of both experience and credence services. These findings contribute to the literature on information processing in the services domain and also have significant practical implications on managing consumer expectations of third-party information.

show abstract

“…Communications from similar others can be more persuasive, via two mechanisms. First, communications from similar others activate a “mentalizing goal” in the receiver, which creates a perception of understanding and induces a feeling of knowing or certainty (Faraji‐Rad et al ). This feeling of certainty is more heuristic than analytic—for example, “that sounds right.” Second, expert knowledge helps the communicator formulate persuasive arguments.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…are likely to find financial experts more persuasive because of similarity in their knowledgeindependent of the content of their communications (Clark et al 2012;Faraji-Rad et al 2015). Similarities between auditors and audit committee experts arise from common background and experience, including accounting education, CPA firm training and experience, and common knowledge of accounting concepts and standards.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Audit Committee Expertise Increase External Auditors' Litigation Risk? The Moderating Effect of Audit Committee Independence

Alderman¹,

Jollineau

2020

Contemporary Accting Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study examines whether the perceived independence and financial expertise of audit committee members affect external auditors' exposure to legal liability. We use an experiment in which potential jurors make judgments about auditor independence and legal liability for a case involving an audit failure. We find that perceptions of audit committee independence from management are positively associated with judgments of auditor independence and negatively associated with auditor liability. However, financial expertise of audit committee members can be a double‐edged sword. Our experiment finds that judgments of auditor liability are higher when the audit committee is perceived to have higher financial expertise but lower independence from management. In assessing litigation risk of current and prospective clients, auditors may want to carefully consider the independence of audit committee members from management, particularly when audit committee members have financial expertise. In the event of an audit failure, the financial expertise of nonindependent audit committee members can negatively affect jurors' perceptions of auditor independence and liability.

show abstract

On the Persuasiveness of Similar Others: The Role of Mentalizing and the Feeling of Certainty

Cited by 7 publications

References 54 publications

Full Disclosure: How Smartphones Enhance Consumer Self-Disclosure

Full Disclosure: How Smartphones Enhance Consumer Self-Disclosure

The Differential Effects of Online Peer Review and Expert Review on Service Evaluations

Can Audit Committee Expertise Increase External Auditors' Litigation Risk? The Moderating Effect of Audit Committee Independence

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About