Effects of source credibility on the relationship between authoritarianism and attitude change.

Abstract

Persuasive messages attributed to either a high credible or a low credible source were presented to Ss who varied in F Scale (authoritarianism) scores. A significant interaction appeared between F Scale scores and source credibility with respect to attitude change, indicating the low F scorer to be more influenced by source differences than the high F scorer. These data are interpreted as supporting McGuire's general model for the relationship between persuasibility and personality, and refuting Johnson and Steiner's hypothesis that the high F scorer is source-oriented. Extension of these findings to social conformity studies is discussed.