All Conference Presentations, Performances and Exhibits
Impact on First Impressions When Including a Personal Picture in Electronic Communications
Location
Guzman Lecture Hall
Start Date
4-14-2016 6:00 PM
End Date
4-14-2016 7:00 PM
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
William Philips, Ph.D.
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
In this age of electronic media, people receive requests on a daily basis. How do people decide who to trust? Source Credibility Theory (Berlo, 1969) suggests the decision is based on the perception of the two main components of credibility-trustworthiness and expertise. The purpose of the present study is to examine the impact to an email request when a picture of the sender is included. A study on physiognomy indicated75% of people believes the face is a valid guide to character, and that a person’s facial expression influences how their message is interpreted (Hassin & Troupe, 2000). Participants will be recruited via email. Two volunteer confederates; one male, one female, will provide two color headshots each; one photo smiling and the other with no smile. An existing Gmail account will be modified to use either the alias Ed Daniels or Beth Daniels. Three emails will be sent from each of the Gmail aliases to my AOL account. One will include a picture of confederate smiling, one not smiling and one with no picture. Each email will have identical text. The email will direct participants to one of six identical questionnaires using SurveyMonkey.com. Potential recipients will be randomly assigned a number one through six. I will then forward to those contacts one of the six emails received from the Gmail account. Using six surveys will ensure accurate matching of email format to participants’ responses.
Participants will assess the personality traits of Ed or Beth using the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) questionnaire (Gosling, Rentfrow and Swann, 2003). Demographic information regarding age, race and gender will also be collected.
Impact on First Impressions When Including a Personal Picture in Electronic Communications
Guzman Lecture Hall
In this age of electronic media, people receive requests on a daily basis. How do people decide who to trust? Source Credibility Theory (Berlo, 1969) suggests the decision is based on the perception of the two main components of credibility-trustworthiness and expertise. The purpose of the present study is to examine the impact to an email request when a picture of the sender is included. A study on physiognomy indicated75% of people believes the face is a valid guide to character, and that a person’s facial expression influences how their message is interpreted (Hassin & Troupe, 2000). Participants will be recruited via email. Two volunteer confederates; one male, one female, will provide two color headshots each; one photo smiling and the other with no smile. An existing Gmail account will be modified to use either the alias Ed Daniels or Beth Daniels. Three emails will be sent from each of the Gmail aliases to my AOL account. One will include a picture of confederate smiling, one not smiling and one with no picture. Each email will have identical text. The email will direct participants to one of six identical questionnaires using SurveyMonkey.com. Potential recipients will be randomly assigned a number one through six. I will then forward to those contacts one of the six emails received from the Gmail account. Using six surveys will ensure accurate matching of email format to participants’ responses.
Participants will assess the personality traits of Ed or Beth using the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) questionnaire (Gosling, Rentfrow and Swann, 2003). Demographic information regarding age, race and gender will also be collected.