Overcoming listener skepticism: Costly signaling in communication increases perceived honesty

Chaudhry, Shereen J.; Wald, Kristina

doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101442

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The current work also supports the notion that costly signaling in social communication can be effective at conveying sincerity and overcoming listener skepticism (Chaudhry & Loewenstein, 2019; Chaudhry & Wald, 2022). Study 7 showed that reminded thankers were able to overcome the decrement in their genuine prosociality and likability by thanking in an especially elaborate, effortful way.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

“…Costly signaling theory indicates that certain costly or wasteful behaviors can be relied upon as signals of honesty or genuineness (Spence, 1973; Zahavi, 1975). As a result, listeners may be particularly attuned to displays of cost from a speaker in determining the speaker’s genuineness (Chaudhry & Wald, 2022). Accordingly, we predicted that if a reminded thanker were to write a more elaborate message than a spontaneous thanker—thus, incurring an effort cost—the decrement in their perceived genuineness from being reminded would be reduced or eliminated.…”

Section: Study 7: Elaboration As a Solution To The Downside Of Remindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Reminders undermine impressions of genuine gratitude.

Wang,

Chaudhry,

Koch

2024

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While reminders can help by encouraging prosocial behaviors, we propose that they can also hurt. Across 10 studies, most of which focus on reminders to express gratitude, we find that reminders interfere with impressions of genuine prosociality. Whether people are reminded subtly (Studies 1a and 6-8) or blatantly (Studies 2-5) to express gratitude, the reminder is perceived to put social pressure on the potential thanker, making reminded thankers seem less genuine and less likable than spontaneous thankers. This is true from the perspective of both a third-party observer (Studies 1a and 2-7) and the receiver of thanks (Study 4), regardless of whether the judgments are about hypothetical (Studies 1a, 2-3, and 6-7) or real behavior (Studies 4-5). We find that this phenomenon can have material consequences: Receivers of gratitude expressions allocated a larger proportion of bonus money to a spontaneous thanker compared to a reminded thanker (Study 5). We also find that to overcome the decrement in their perceived genuineness, reminded thankers must engage in costly signaling by thanking more elaborately (Study 7), and reminded thankers spontaneously do this (Study 8). Overall, while reminding people to engage in prosocial actions may encourage laudable behavior (Study 6), our findings suggest that doing so may also undermine the actor's perceived genuineness, leading to material consequences and raising the bar for what is required to signal sincerity.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Section: Study 7: Elaboration As a Solution To The Downside Of Remindersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reminders undermine impressions of genuine gratitude.

Wang,

Chaudhry,

Koch

2024

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

How to Establish Credibility? The Influence of Expression Manner on Tourist Information Adoption

Li,

Liu,

2024

Journal of Travel Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study utilizes source credibility theory to examine how two manners of expression act as cues for source trustworthiness and expertise, impacting potential tourists’ adoption intentions. Importantly, we explore the interplay between source identity and the manner of expression. Throughout this investigation, four empirical studies were undertaken, integrating social media analytics and three experiments. Findings show that high effort and certainty expressions increase potential tourists’ willingness to adopt information, mediated by benevolence-based and competence-based trust, respectively. Particularly, high effort expression is more effective when the source is a tourist, while high certainty expression is more effective with local residents. The research findings suggest that platforms and destination managers should encourage local residents to focus on enhancing certainty expression when generating user-generated content, while encouraging tourists to focus on enhancing effort expression. Additionally, these findings provide insights for crafting guides tailored to different identity information sources.

show abstract

Investigating the impact of erroneous use of memes on effective communication

Okafor

2024

Edumania

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the ever-evolving digital age, the influence of memes on effective communication cannot be overstated. However, their widespread popularity has also led to a proliferation of erroneous and misleading content. Guided by cultural evolution and evolutionary game theories, this study delves into the impact of the erroneous use of memes within this dynamic landscape. It explores the cognitive effects of encountering such memes on receivers and investigates the factors contributing to the dissemination of erroneous memes. This research identifies key factors contributing to the creation and spread of erroneous memes, such as confirmation bias, emotional appeal, sensationalism, social media algorithms, cognitive biases, and social reinforcement. In addition to its findings, the study provides practical recommendations for memetic literacy and responsible meme creation and sharing. This study contributes to knowledge by advancing our understanding of memes as a unique form of digital communication and their role in shaping public discourse.

show abstract

Overcoming listener skepticism: Costly signaling in communication increases perceived honesty

Cited by 3 publications

References 54 publications

Reminders undermine impressions of genuine gratitude.

Reminders undermine impressions of genuine gratitude.

How to Establish Credibility? The Influence of Expression Manner on Tourist Information Adoption

Investigating the impact of erroneous use of memes on effective communication

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About