Audience Reaction and Its Effect On Perceived Expertise

Abstract

A hypothesis derived from Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory suggests that in circumstances of uncertainty or ambiguity the perception of a speaker's expertise will be liable to influence by the reactions of an "audience. " As a test of this prediction two groups of subjects were presented with a televised lecture on a technical topic with which they were unfamiliar. One group saw the lecture with positive audience reactions inserted and one with negative audience reactions. In the negative condition the lecturer was rated as less expert (p <0.05), more confusing (p < 0.01), and more shallow (p < 0.05), whilst ratings of personal attractiveness were unaffected. It is concluded that perceived expertise is subject to manipulation and bias under conditions of unfamiliarity and uncertainty.