Picking Our Pundits: Identifying Factors of Source Credibility in Politics

Abstract

This paper assesses the role parasocial interaction has on perceptions of credibility, especially in terms of political commentators. Parasocial interaction and the concept of entertainment education create a framework to explore how people react to persuasive messages from political commentators. After assessing the impact of parasocial interrelations, assessments were made concerning viewers’ likelihood of elaboration, attitude and behavior change. It was found that higher PSI levels generated more positive message evaluations, higher assessments of source credibility, decreased counter-arguing, and increased likelihood for attitude and behavior change.