The impact of source credibility, attitude valence, and task sensitization on trait errors in speech evaluation

A general paradigm of a rating error theory is presented with a study testing relationships from the theory. The study aimed to discover the effects of source credibility, attitude valence, and task sensitization on trait errors in the evaluation of speeches. The main hypothesis of the study was an interaction effect on trait errors in the speech ratings. The results indicate a significant triple interaction, suggesting that when speech raters are sensitized to the task and are in favor of the view of the speaker, their trait errors on “ideas” will favor a low credibility speaker. The results are explained in terms of attraction and similarity.