Stylistic variables as related to source credibility: A content analysis approach

Abstract

R HETORICAL theorists past and present have generally agreed that a lack of stylistic clarity "lowers the speaker in the esteem of his listeners." 1 Unfortunately this well-known principle has not been examined empirically even though research in source credibility abounds in speech and communication journals. A few scholars have measured the effects of intense language, 2 metaphor, 3 simile, 4 or analogy 5 and source credibility concluding that impressions of the source seem less sensitive to stylistic variations than is attitude change. Other researchers have surveyed comprehension factors in oral and written messages, but these investigators do not consider how oral or written style influences the receiver's attitude toward the source of the message. 6

Communicating Imperatives Requires Psychological Closeness But Creates Psychological Distance

“…Imperatives are relationship-dependent and effective to the degree that the respondent deems the speaker trustworthy or credible (Bénabou et al, 2018). An imperative is taken seriously if it originates from a credible source and one way to assess credibility through language is to evaluate personal pronouns (Carbone, 1975). In academic papers, for example, first-person pronouns aid in amplifying an author’s credibility.…”

Do Detail and Its Verifiability Serve as Indicators of Strategy Effectiveness and as Sources of Credibility in Voluntary Qualitative Disclosure?

“…The management forecast literature finds the market responds favorably to good news forecasts when such forecasts are accompanied by verifiable forward-looking statements, suggesting market participants view such statements as credible (Hirst et al, 2003;Hutton et al, 2003;Lundholm, 1999;Petroni et al, 2000;Ryan, 1997). In the speech literature, Rosenthal (1971) and Carbone (1975) argue that people will accept an empirical statement more readily when it contains verifiable and/or more unambiguous language. The advertising literature also provides evidence that verifiability affects credibility by investigating the difference between verifiable and nonverifiable product qualities (Nelson, 1970(Nelson, , 1974.…”

Analyzing the credibility of eword-of-mouth using customer reviews on social media

“…Source and context-oriented analysis examines the characteristics of the communicator, message, medium, context, and recipient (Eisend, 2003;Nawratil, 2013). Regarding the independent variables of the eWoM communication process, results have shown that for the communicator, it is mainly the properties of competence, trustworthiness, similari-ty, and physical attractiveness; for the message style, the language, contents, and structure of the message; and, for the medium, the type of medium, the accuracy with which the information is communicated, and the visual presentation that have an impact on perceived credibility (Bentele & Seidenglanz, 2015;Carbone, 1975;Eisend, 2003;Ohanian, 1990;Robinson & Kohut, 1988).…”