Effect on opinion change of similarity between the communicator and the audience he addressed.

Abstract

An experiment tested the hypothesis that a communication will be more persuasive when the audience thinks the communicator felt similar to the audience he addressed than when the audience thinks the communicator felt dissimilar to those he addressed. College women read the same communication with varying introductions. Some were informed that the communicator was a musician and those in the audience he addressed were music students, some that the communicator was an engineer and those in the audience addressed were engineering students, some that the communicator was a musician and those in the audience were engineering students, and some that the communicator was an engineer and those in the audience, music students. In confirmation of the hypothesis, agreement with the communicator's position was greater when he was similar to the audience he addressed.