Persuasive Qualities

The characteristics of the sources of persuasive messages can have an impact on how persuasive the message is. Credibility, liking, and similarity are all source factors that impact persuasiveness. Breaking down the characteristics of the source of a message can help understand how persuasive the message will be to receivers. When looking at judgments of credibility, there are two categories they fall into, either competence or trustworthiness. Individuals have to have high trustworthiness and competence in order to be seen as credible. The underlying factors that influence credibility judgments can either influence trustworthiness, competence or both. The factors are: education, nonfluencies in delivery, the citation of evidence, position
But unlike credibility and liking, it does not directly impact the outcome, but rather indirectly by impacting credibility and liking. There are two conditions to keep in mind when considering the impact of perceived similarities and dissimilarities on credibility judgments. First, the similarity or dissimilarity must be relevant to the subject of advocacy. So if a source and receiver have the same preferences for food, then the receiver will think the source’s advice on healthy recipes is credible. But if they had the same preference for food, then the receiver would not necessarily perceive the source as credible when suggesting a new dentist. A second condition is that not all perceived similarities enhance credibility, and not all dissimilarities hurt credibility. So if the perceived similarity is that both individuals do not have a lot of knowledge on ways to improve eating habits, credibility will not be increased. On the other hand, if the perceived dissimilarity is the source has more knowledge on the receiver about healthy habits, then the source is perceived to be more credible. Similarity or dissimilarity can affect the credibility of a source, which affects the persuasiveness of a source’s
There is evidence suggesting perceived attitudinal similarities increase liking. Even when similarities are not relevant to the subject, the perceived attitudinal similarities increase liking. This can be illustrated through the balance theory. If a receiver and source both feel positively about increasing the healthy lunch options at the workplace, then the receiver is inclined to like the source to create balance because they share the same attitudes. The receiver has the desire to create balance so they also like the source in other situations and create balance by also liking the message. The liking of a source then influences the persuasiveness of a