How the Interaction of Public Relations Spokesperson Gender and Ethnicity Effect Audience Perceptions of Spokesperson, Organization and Message Credibility: Using the Heuristic Systematic Model to Investigate a Possible Emerging Trend.

Abstract

This study focused on investigating the interaction effects of source ethnicity and gender, under different news conditions (crisis and benign news) on audience perceptions of credibility of a spokesperson, the organization and the message. The study also observed the workings of the HeuristicSystematic Model by providing participants with varying degrees of information and evaluating the effects of the same on spokesperson, organization and message credibility. Participants included 394 participants of mixed gender, ethnicities and ages. The study found that type of news had the most statistically significant effects on audience perceptions of spokesperson, organization and message credibility, altruism and importance. Analysis revealed that gender of the spokesperson had statistically significant effects on audience perceptions of organization altruism, and the interaction of news type and spokesperson ethnicity had statistically significant effects on audience perceptions of organization altruism. The study found that ethnicity and gender do not have any statistically significant effects on audience perceptions of spokesperson, organization and message credibility.