Intercultural differences in responses to health messages on social media from spokespeople with varying levels of ethnic identity

In this study respondents were exposed to a social media page with either an African American avatar communicating high ethnic identity or low ethnic identity, encouraging them to read a story on the dangers of heart disease. Respondents were then asked to rate perceived response efficacy and behavioral intentions. Caucasians and African Americans did not differ on response efficacy across conditions; however African Americans in the high ethnic identity group indicated a change in behavioral intentions whereas other respondents did not. The results are discussed in relation to healthcare information targeting, future healthcare campaigns and emergent technologies.     

Social media and credibility indicators: The effect of influence cues

Guided by the MAIN model, this study examines how individuals evaluate the source credibility of tweets and retweets based on non-content attributes. Three types of heuristics were examined, including authority, identity, and bandwagon cues. Findings suggest that all three heuristics impacted source credibility perceptions to some extent. Authority cues most strongly influenced source credibility perceptions, and cue-cumulative effects were demonstrated in which different heuristics triggered by different agency cues increased perceptions of credibility. Moreover, the presence of retweets reduced perceptions of source credibility compared to conditions with no retweets.     

Health information-seeking and perceptions of website credibility: Examining Web-use orientation,message characteristics,and structural features of websites

The study reported here examined perceptions of health website credibility during the process of acquiring health information using the World Wide Web. The relationships between perceptions of website credibility and both message characteristics (e.g., statistics, testimonials) and structural features of health websites (e.g., privacy policy statement, third-party endorsements) were assessed. Additionally, one’s Web-use orientation (i.e., searching or surfing) was evaluated as a moderator of the preceding relationships. The results showed a positive relationship between the presence of structural features and perceptions of website credibility as well as a positive relationship between the presence of message characteristics and attitudes about the health topic. Although Web-use orientation moderated the relationship between message characteristics and perceptions of website credibility, the nature of this relationship was inconsistent with study predictions.     

Credibility Assessments of Online Health Information: The Effects of Source Expertise and Knowledge of Content

Millions of Americans use the Internet as a resource for information, with a large proportion seeking health information. Research indicates that medical professionals do not author an extensive amount of health information available on the Internet. This creates a possibility for false information, thereby potentially leading ill people away from proper care. One way to begin addressing this problem is to assess perceptions of credibility about information found online. A between-groups, 2 (message type) × 3 (source type) factorial design was tested by manipulating source expertise (high, medium, low) and content knowledge (known and unknown). While findings did not indicate a significant interaction between source and content type, they did indicate an overall tendency to rate all information as relatively credible. In addition, results indicate that both knowledge of content and source expertise affect perceptions of online health information.     

To Err is human? How typographical and orthographical errors affect perceptions of online reviewers

Consumers increasingly rely on online product reviews when making purchase decisions. However, assessing the credibility of online reviewers presents consumers with unique challenges. This paper examines how consumer perceptions of reviewer credibility are influenced by the presence and type of textual errors in the review itself. The results of an online experiment indicate that consumers’ reactions to textual errors are moderated by their general trust in others. Low-trust consumers are relatively insensitive to textual errors in judging reviewer credibility. However, high-trust consumers are less forgiving of typographical errors (which may signal carelessness) than orthographical errors (which may indicate cognitive challenges). Implications for future research are discussed.     

Interacting arguments in crisis communication: The influence of message convergence on risk and crisis messages

By their nature, risks, and crises create uncertainty. This uncertainty causes both discomfort and confusion for those seeking to protect themselves and their loved ones from the threat at hand. As more information is revealed about a risk or crisis, interacting arguments often coalesce to reveal points or convergence. This exploratory study examined the relationships among message convergence and the desire to seek additional information, source credibility, risk severity, and perceptions of message consistency in response to a notable risk to the food supply. Results indicated that those participants viewing content with high convergence had heightened perceptions of source credibility, risk severity, and message consistency. They did not, however, indicate a need to seek further information. These results suggest that organizations and agencies offering warnings about risks and crises can benefit from message convergence.     

Online News Credibility: An Examination of the Perceptions of Newspaper Journalists

This study examines print and online daily newspaper journalists' perceptions of the credibility of Internet news information, as well as the influence of several factors—most notably, professional role conceptions—on those perceptions. Credibility was measured as a multidimensional construct. The results of a survey of U.S. journalists (N = 655) show that Internet news information was viewed as moderately credible overall and that online newspaper journalists rated Internet news information as significantly more credible than did print newspaper journalists. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that Internet reliance was a strong positive predictor of credibility. Two professional role conceptions also emerged as significant predictors. The populist mobilizer role conception was a significant positive predictor of online news credibility, while the adversarial role conception was a significant negative predictor. Demographic characteristics of print and online daily newspaper journalists did not influence their perceptions of online news credibility.     

A social network as information: The effect of system generated reports of connectedness on credibility on Twitter

Social media have gained increased usage rapidly for a variety of reasons. News and information is one such reason. The current study examines how system-generated cues available in social media impact perceptions of a source’s credibility. Participants were asked to view one of six mock Twitter.com pages that varied both the number of followers and the ratio between followers and follows on the page and report their perceived source credibility. Data indicate that curvilinear effects for number of followers exist, such that having too many or too few connections results in lower judgments of expertise and trustworthiness. Having a narrow gap between the number of followers and follows also led to increased judgments of competence. Implications of these findings are discussed, along with limitations of the current study and directions for future research.     

Social Media as Information Source: Recency of Updates and Credibility of Information

Social media are increasingly being used as an information source, including information related to risks and crises. The current study examines how pieces of information available in social media impact perceptions of source credibility. Specifically, participants in the study were asked to view 1 of 3 mock Twitter.com pages that varied the recency with which tweets were posted and then to report on their perceived source credibility of the page owner. Data indicate that recency of tweets impacts source credibility; however, this relationship is mediated by cognitive elaboration. These data suggest many implications for theory and application, both in computer‐mediated communication and crisis communication. These implications are discussed, along with limitations of the current study and directions for future research.     

The effects of source cues on online news perception

Among various interface cues, expertise, identity, and bandwagon cues have been consistently found to have significant effects on media users’ perceptions of online news content. To examine the effects of these three types of heuristic cues in the context of online news consumption, the current study involved a 2 (expertise cue: low vs. high) × 2 (identity cue: in-group vs. out-group) × 2 (bandwagon cue: low vs. high) online experiment. A total of 121 undergraduate students participated in the study. Significant two-way interaction effects between the expertise and bandwagon cues on perceived credibility suggested the positive combined effect of these two cues. Moreover, significant three-way interaction effects among expertise, identity and bandwagon cues indicated that the interaction effects between expertise and bandwagon cues tend to work as a function of the identity cue. While confirming the importance of the identity cue in users’ perceptions of online news, three-way interaction effects confirmed the co-occurrence of heuristic and systematic processing. The interaction effects also suggested that people process news systematically when the recommenders are out-group members, whereas they process news heuristically when the recommenders are in-group members. Theoretical as well as practical implications have also been discussed in this article.     

Choose your “buddy icon” carefully: The influence of avatar androgyny, anthropomorphism and credibility in online interactions

In both online and offline interactions, the visual representation of people influences how others perceive them. In contrast to the offline body, an online visual representation of a person is consciously chosen and not stable. This paper reports the results of a 2 step examination of the influence of avatars on the person perception process. Specifically, this project examines the reliance on visual characteristics during the online perception process, and the relative influence of androgyny, anthropomorphism and credibility. In the first step, 255 participants fill out a survey where they rated a set of 30 static avatars on their credibility, androgyny, and anthropomorphism. The second step is a between subjects experiment with 230 participants who interact with partners represented by one of eight avatars (high and low androgyny, and anthropomorphism by high and low credibility). Results show that the characteristics of the avatar are used in the person perception process. Causal modeling techniques revealed that perceptions of avatar androgyny influence perceptions of anthropomorphism, which influences attributions of both avatar and partner credibility. Implications of these results for theory, future research, and users and designers of systems using avatars are discussed.     

Linking Issue Management,Corporate Social Responsibility and Crisis Communication: Applying Balance Theory in Crisis and Issue Management

Through a 2 × 2 × 3 experiment design, this study examines effects of issue‐related corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes on stakeholder perceptions of an issue‐related crisis (i.e., blame, scepticism and corporate credibility) through the lens of balance theory. Results indicate that issue‐related CSR programmes work well in reducing scepticism when stakeholders have high issue involvement and positive attitudes. Scepticism is also found to be a mediator between issue‐related CSR programmes and perceived corporate credibility.     

Factors influencing the perceived credibility of diet-nutrition information web sites

This study investigated the factors that influence the perceived credibility of web sites providing diet and nutrition information. Undergirded by the dual-processing models (i.e., Elaboration Likelihood Model and Heuristic Systematic Model), an online experiment (N = 575) was conducted to examine how perceptions of online diet and nutrition information credibility are influenced by source expertise cues and message accuracy; the effects of prior knowledge and interest in the information also were assessed. Results showed that message accuracy increased perceived credibility of the web site regardless of the level of source expertise. However, source expertise had an important effect on website credibility perceptions among those who exhibited low prior knowledge. Finally, message accuracy had a greater impact on web site credibility among those who were highly involved in the issue compared to those who were less involved. The findings increase our understanding of the factors that impact individuals’ processing of online diet and nutrition information and suggest elements practitioners should consider including to create the most effective online sources for diet and nutrition information.     

Every Blog Has Its Day: Politically-interested Internet Users' Perceptions of Blog Credibility

This study employs an online survey to examine U.S. politically-interested Internet users' perceptions of the credibility of blogs. The article focuses on the influence of blog reliance compared to motivations for visiting blogs in determining blog credibility. The study found that blogs were judged as moderately credible, but as more credible than any mainstream media or online source. Both reliance and motivations predicted blog credibility after controlling for demographics and political variables. Reliance proved a consistently stronger predictor than blog motivations. Also, information-seeking motives predicted credibility better than entertainment ones.     

复杂系统仿真模型可信度评估方法对比

为准确评估复杂系统仿真模型的可信度,以某飞行器非线性动力学模型为研究对象,对比多种传统可信度评估方法和基于复杂性测度的可信度评估方法的准确性。结果表明：传统可信度评估方法可以从单一方面进行模型的可信度评估并得到可信的结果,而基于复杂性测度的可信度评估方法可以综合分析信息熵、复杂度和系统结构认知图等信息,客观定量地评价模型的可信度。基于复杂性测度的可信度评估结果可为其他评估方法的准确性判断提供依据。     

Perceptions of News Credibility about the War in Iraq: Why War Opponents Perceived the Internet as the Most Credible Medium

This study investigated cross‐media credibility perception with respect to news coverage about the Iraq War. In an environment of political partisanship, perceptions of media credibility were likely affected by the audience’s political position on the war. Based on hostile media effect theory, a set of hypotheses was proposed to investigate whether the minority opinion group, war opponents, evaluated the Internet as a more credible medium than did neutrals or supporters. An online survey was conducted to which 481 people responded (71% war supporters, 19% opponents, 10% neutrals). Results showed that opponents of the war perceived the Internet as less aligned with a pro‐government position and as more credible than did neutrals or supporters. The opponent group also showed a strong negative correlation between perceived pro‐government alignment and perceptions of Internet credibility. For the minority partisan group, the diversity of information and views on the war was the main reason for the perception of high credibility of the Internet as a news channel.     

How much Klout do you have … A test of system generated cues on source credibility

Social media provides a great deal of information about the users; whether it is personal likes or dislikes, social connections and networks, or general emotional states in ways not previously available to others. As a result, judgments and perceptions of a person’s credibility can be made from examining posts, tweets, or other indicators on social media (Westerman, Spence, & Van Der Heide, 2012). Because social media users create their own content, the question of how others make judgments about credibility is important (Haas & Wearden, 2003). However, until recently, a single indicator of a person’s influence on social media networks did not exist. Klout.com developed an popular indicator of this influence that creates a single score based on the idea that “everyone has influence—the ability to drive action”. The purpose of the study is to determine whether and to what degree a Klout score can influence perceptions of credibility. Results demonstrated that the mock Twitter page with a high Klout score was perceived as higher in dimensions of credibility than the identical mock Twitter page with a moderate or low Klout score.     

The Hyperlinked World: A Look at How the Interactions of News Frames and Hyperlinks Influence News Credibility and Willingness to Seek Information

Prior research has identified the influence of using hyperlinks in online information gathering. This study attempts to understand first, how hyperlinks can influence individuals' perceptions of news credibility and information‐seeking behavior. Second, the paper extends previous research by examining the interaction of hyperlinks with the content of the story. In doing so, the paper examines the influence of hyperlinks on news frames. The data for the study were collected using 2 experiments embedded in web‐based survey of participants. Findings show that hyperlinks in news stories can increase perceptions of credibility as well as information‐seeking. Results reveal the interaction of news frames in the process; hyperlinks increase participants' perception of news credibility; but only in the value‐framed condition. Implications are discussed.     

基于无干扰理论的在线用户行为可信性分析方法

针对在线应用中用户行为可信性难监测、难评判的现状和当前用户行为可信性分析理论薄弱问题，提出一种基于无干扰理论的在线用户行为可信性分析方法。首先，从执行单步行为的行为实体身份、状态、环境三方面定义单步行为静态可信性，给出静态可信验证策略；然后，从行为执行过程和结果两个角度定义行为动态可信性，给出行为动态可信验证策略；最后，基于单步行为构建用户行为流程，提出基于可信扩展思想的用户行为流程可信性判定定理，并应用无干扰理论进行定理证明。证明过程及结果验证了所提方法的正确性和有效性。     

Expert Sources in Warnings May Reduce the Extent of Identity Disclosure in Cyber Contexts

Identity theft is an increasing threat to individuals, institutions, and the economy. People are often not adequately cautious with the disclosure of their personal information in digital contexts and may make poor decisions to reveal private information. Warnings reduce unnecessary information exposure, but the effectiveness may depend on source credibility and expertise on influencing risk perceptions and attitudes. The warnings must be designed for users acting in a digital context. The current research was conducted to determine whether adding a trustworthy and expert source to a message that warned individuals not to disclose their personal information would impact decisions to disclose. First, a survey (pilot study) was conducted to identify the source considered the most trustworthy (among Google, FBI Cyber Division, and Department of Justice) and competent with respect to online security. Google received the highest ratings. In a later experiment, warnings with sources did reduce the extent of disclosure, with the FBI Cyber Division (not Google) being the most effective source. The results indicate that warnings need to be tested with respect to the actual target behavior (in this case, disclosure), rather than relying on individuals’ perceptions of trust, risk, or influence of a warning message when designing effective warnings.