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Correlates of trustworthiness for celebrities

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Abstract

The widespread use of celebrities as product endorsers and company spokesmen stimulated the authors to investigate what factors underlie the credibility of these endorsers. Two studies were conducted in order to determine those attributes of a celebrity which correlate most highly with trust. In Study I, students rated 33 celebrities, who were not product endorsers, on six attributes: awareness, trust, likeableness, similarity, life style, and personal attractiveness. In Study II, members of a civic group rated 20 celebrities, who were endorsing products, on the above-mentioned six attributes plus two additional ones, talent and voting intention. Both studies demonstrated the strong relationship between trust and likeableness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brooklyn Campus, Long Island University, Brooklyn, USA

    Hershey H. Friedman Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Hershey H. Friedman Ph.D.
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  2. Michael J. Santeramo
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  3. Anthony Traina
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Colgate-Palmolive Corporation

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Friedman, H.H., Santeramo, M.J. & Traina, A. Correlates of trustworthiness for celebrities. JAMS 6, 291–299 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02732313

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