Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
882576 Journal of Consumer Psychology 2006 11 Pages PDF
Abstract

The effect on the impact of a message of explicitly stating a desire to persuade can depend on the communicator's physical attractiveness. Experiment 1 confirmed this possibility. Attractive male and female salespersons induced more positive attitudes and stronger intentions to purchase a product when they explicitly stated their desire to influence potential buyers. In contrast, unattractive salespersons were less likely to induce a favorable attitude toward the product under these conditions. Experiment 2 replicated these effects and provided evidence that they are mediated by the attribution of self-serving motives to the salesperson. A 2-step process of impression formation and attribution was used to describe the mechanisms underlying these effects.

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