In potentially deceptive situations, people rely on mental shortcuts to help process information. These heuristic judgments are often biased and result in inaccurate assessments of sender veracity. Four such biases--truth bias, visual bias, demeanor bias, and expectancy violation bias--were examined in a judgment experiment that varied nonverbal…

Reports results of a study in which the investigator attempted to identify dimensions of perceived vocal attributes, assess the specific effects of perceived vocal attributes on credibility evaluations, and compare attributes and dimensions of attributes on their contributions to variance in credibility judgments. (GW)

Examines the relationships among nonverbal behaviors, dimensions of source credibility, and speaker persuasiveness in a public speaking context. Finds numerous associations between nonverbal behaviors and attributions of credibility and persuasiveness. Discusses advantages of analyzing nonverbal cues according to proximal precepts. (SR)

Assesses the relative effectiveness of praise and derogation in persuading receivers and enhancing the speaker's credibility. Comparisons are made by sex of the persuader as well as the receiver. (JMF)

The role of two nonverbal variables, conversational distance and physical self-presentation, were examined as potential sources of distraction and for their consequent effects on susceptibility to persuasion. The distraction literature was reviewed and synthesized into five propositions, which served as a starting point for predicting how…

Results of an experiment manipulating violations of distancing expectations and physical attractiveness indicate that both may be sources of distraction. Offers modest support for the prediction that attractive individuals engaging in violations of expectations will serve as positive sources of distraction, leading to greater susceptibility to…

A model of conversational distance violations that claims that these violations mediate communication outcomes such as source credibility, source attraction, and learning was examined in a study involving 136 undergraduate students. The students were tested in small group settings using eight confederates, four rated highly and four lowly in…