ECREA16-Abstract

525

Friday, November 11

0 9 : 0 0 – 1 0 : 3 0

PP 279

The Ethnic Box. An Experiment on How a Communicator’s Ethnic Origin Affects Credibility Perceptions

Y. Erenler

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, DFG-Graduiertenkolleg "Vertrauen und Kommunikation in einer digitalisierten Welt", Münster, Germany

How credible is a communicator speaking about Islamwhen they have an Arab origin themselves? Does the communicator’s ethnic origin determine the au‑

dience’s credibility perceptions – especially when the communicator talks about issues which are related to his ethnic origin?Various studies in communica‑

tor credibility research focus on the effects communicator features have on credibility perceptions, e.g., gender or appearance. Yet, a communicator’s ethnic

origin has not been considered, although it might impact interpersonal evaluations. Moreover, ethnic heterogeneity of societies increases. Accordingly,

the number of political communicators (e.g., politicians, journalists) with diverse ethnic origins rises. Credibility research should take this development into

account. The present empirical study provides first insights by examining how a communicator’s ethnic origin might affect audience credibility perceptions.

This study’s theoretical framework incorporates two concepts from different research areas: Firstly, a four-dimensional credibility concept based on theo‑

retical considerations from communication and persuasion sciences (e.g., Hovland, Janis & Kelley, 1953) is developed. Secondly, credibility assessments are

linked to stereotyping as a concept from social psychology. The assumption is that a communicator’s ethnic origin works as a stimulus for stereotyping pro‑

cesses. In turn, stereotypes are assumed to affect audience credibility assessments – particularly when the communicator speaks about issues which relate

to stereotypes. Consequently, the communicator is expected to promote a particular – namely a stereotypical – perspective (Eagly, Chaiken &Wood, 1981).

If the expected perspective is confirmed (=high stereotype fitting), credibility ratings will be low. When disproving (=low stereotype fitting), credibility

ratings will be high: the communicator might seem to have overcome cultural predispositions, thus appearing more objective. Two experimental online

surveys with 180 participants were conducted. The communicator was a fictional male Arab journalist; his journalistic commentary provided the experi‑

mental stimulus. In experiment A, the commentary dealt with discrimination of women, whereas experiment B was about Islam. According to prevailing

stereotypes, recipients were assumed to deem the communicator a proponent of Islam and an opponent of gender equality (e.g., Ewing, 2008). Treatment

manipulations were high stereotype fitting (experiment A: downplaying discrimination of women; experiment B: supporting Islam) and low stereotype

fitting (experiment A: deploring discrimination of women; experiment B: criticizing Islam). The recipients’ individual opinion on the commentary issue

was included as a non-manipulated factor. Results from experiment A showed significantly higher credibility ratings for low stereotype fittings. The Arab

journalist was perceived more credible and more objective when he deplored the discrimination of women and disproved the stereotypical perspective.

Participants might have assumed he had overcome cultural predispositions. Whereas the participants’individual opinion had no effect on credibility ratings

in experiment A, there was an interaction effect between stereotype fitting and individual opinion in experiment B: the journalist was rated most credible

by participants who read the commentary with high stereotype fitting and shared his opinion. In summary, the study shows a communicator’s ethnic origin

can affect credibility perceptions. Linking stereotyping processes to credibility assessments has proven to be viable approach which provides interesting

avenues for future research.

PP 280

Comparison of the Personalisation of Mediated Political Communication in Established and Transitional Democracies: Is It Time for New

Theories?

M. Simunjak

Middlesex University, Department of Media, London, United Kingdom

Existing literature concerning political communication is saturated with theories of personalisation, the trend which manifests itself in the greater focus on

political leaders as individuals at the expense of political collectives such as parties and governments. Over the past couple of decades a significant body

of research was developed which examines the feasibility of this theory, mainly in established Western democracies. Based on numerous case studies,

and some comparative research, it can be concluded that media reporting in countries such as the UK, the US, and France, have over the past few decades

become more leader-centred, i.e. personalised, meaning that political leaders increasingly became media visible, and the focus on collective political actors

decreased. These similarities in trends in political communication among Western democracies have most frequently been explained through theories

of Americanisation and modernisation. But what about the rest of the world? Which trends of political communication can be found there, and how im‑

portant and media visible are political leaders in these, ‘other’parts of the world? This article compares the ways in which the personalisation of mediated

political communication developed since 1970s until present day in a new, transitional democracy and in a Western, established democracy. Specifically,

this study is based on a longitudinal content analysis of Yugoslav/Croatian and British daily newspapers. The comparison of the data related to the lead‑

er-centred media reporting fromYugoslavia and Croatia with that from the UK shows that the trends observed in the transitional context run in the opposite

direction from trends found in Western countries. Specifically, while media reporting became more leader-centred since 1970s in the examined Western

democracy, it became more party-centred and less leader-centred in the studied transitional democracy. Consequently, it is suggested that the de-person‑

alisation of mediated political communication, manifested in a greater focus on collective political actors, as compared to individual ones, might represent

a new trend in political communication. In addition, two new theories are proposed that may help explain the de-personalisation trend in transitional

societies. These are continuation theory and democratisation theory.