Abstract
We examine how the status and speech style of experts impacts how they are perceived and their level of influence. In our experiment we manipulate whether high-status and low-status experts share their expert knowledge using a more or less powerful style of speech, and find that experts are more liked, more influential, and engender more confidence when they express themselves in a manner congruent with their status (i.e., high status with powerful speech and low status with powerless speech). We further show that liking acts as a mediator between congruence and influence. This study suggests that experts with low-status characteristics who want to be influential should ensure that their expertise, a marker of high status, is known to the listener before engaging in powerful styles of speech
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 379-395 |
Number of pages | 17 |
Journal | Group Processes and Intergroup Relations |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2010 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Congruence
- Expertise
- Influence
- Power
- Powerful speech
- Powerless speech
- Status
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Cultural Studies
- Communication
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Sociology and Political Science