Perceived credibility of a "neutral" abortion-related message and its sponsor.
This study investigated the effect of a high- versus low-credibility sponsor on the perceived credibility of an abortion-related message. Three groups of subjects read a message that had been evaluated as "neutral" by officials of both "pro-life" and "pro-choice" groups. Sponsorship of the message was varied among the three groups (no sponsor; pro-life sponsor; pro-choice sponsor). Subjects rated the credibility of the message and credibility of the sponsor and also indicated their own attitudes toward abortion. Pro-life and pro-choice subjects did not differ in their perception of the nonsponsored message. The signature of a high-credibility sponsor improved the message's perceived credibility; however, the signature of a low-credibility sponsor did not diminish the message's credibility.
D000028:Abortion, Induced; D001290:Attitude; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010565:Persuasive Communication; D011247:Pregnancy; D012659:Semantic Differential