Attitude Homophily Research Articles

Celebrity-Fan Engagement on Instagram and Its Influence on The Perception of Hijab Culture Among Muslim Women in Malaysia

Celebrities who use Instagram can influence their female followers in many ways, for instance, in influencing their perceptions on body image, adoption of healthy eating lifestyles, and persuading them to purchase products or services endorsed by these celebrities. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the influence of celebrity-fan engagement on Instagram on hijab culture among Muslim women in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among female university students from the International Islamic University of Malaysia (N = 630). In order to participate in the study, respondents completed an online survey and are instructed to think about a favourite female Muslim celebrity they follow on Instagram while completing the research instrument. Results indicate that almost one-third of the most popular Muslim celebrities among females Instagram users are non-traditional celebrities (i.e. bloggers/vloggers, YouTube personalities and social media influencers). Furthermore, attitude homophily and parasocial interaction with said celebrity may significantly influence the likelihood that the celebrity’s profile will be visited, and the number of likes on their photos. Finally, after controlling for the respondents’ religious educational background, this study found that those who had positive attitude and behaviour towards the hijab, and perceived a higher degree of parasocial bond with Muslim celebrities on Instagram tended to have a more positive perception towards the hijab culture. The repercussions of these findings on the parasocial interaction theory, and the influence of celebrity-fan engagement on social media over hijab culture are discussed. Keywords : Homophily, hijab culture, Instagram use, Muslim celebrities, parasocial interaction.

Instagram and YouTube bloggers promote it, why should I buy? How credibility and parasocial interaction influence purchase intentions

Nowadays social network influencers play an important role in marketing by introducing products to their audience. In this article, we investigate the persuasion cues related to beauty and fashion influencers present on YouTube and Instagram. More precisely, we investigate how the para-social interaction (PSI) the audience creates with the online influencer, along with their perceived credibility, are related to the purchase intention and how they are, in turn, related to the social and physical attractiveness and attitude homophily. We base our research on four beauty influencers popular in France and control our results by the age of the participants and by the influencer. We find that attitude homophily is positively related to PSI but, surprisingly, the physical attractiveness shows negative relationship or no evidence of relationship. Both credibility of the influencers and PSI exhibit significant and positive relationships to purchase intention.

Impact of Teacher Attire on Students’ Views of Teacher Credibility, Attitude Homophily, and Background Homophily within School-based Agricultural Education Programs

School-based agricultural education teachers can face conflicting role obligations and conflict when contradictory expectations accompany their positions, making the daily selection of what to wear difficult for these educators. The decision is crucial, however; dress sends strong messages of the profession to others, including students. We used a multiple case study design to examine the impact of teacher attire on students’ perceptions of attitude homophily, background homophily, and teacher credibility. Findings indicated differing perceptions of business professionally, business casually, and casually dressed agriculture teachers between cases. Further, data suggested students’ expectations for teacher attire varied by content matter, with agricultural mechanics content requiring more casual clothing. We recommend teachers wear business casual clothing most frequently in order to moderate between students’ teacher-related and agriculturalist-related expectations, while shaping students’ views regarding the professionalism of the agricultural, food, and natural resources industry.

Using Rhetorical/Relational Goal Theory to Examine College Students’ Impressions of Their Instructors

Guided by rhetorical/relational goal theory, the purpose of this study was to examine whether students’ impressions of their instructors’ credibility, attraction, and homophily are influenced by four specific rhetorical and relational communication behaviors that instructors use when communicating with their students in the classroom. Participants were 193 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of introductory communication courses at a large mid-Atlantic university. Using a series of multiple regression analyses, it was found that (a) clarity emerged as the sole indicator of instructor competence, trustworthiness, and task attraction; (b) clarity and confirmation emerged as indicators of goodwill; and (c) humor and confirmation emerged as indicators of social attraction and attitude homophily.

人間関係の選択性と態度の同類性 : ダイアド・データを用いた検討

人間関係の選択性と態度の同類性 : ダイアド・データを用いた検討

Consumers’ self-congruence with a “Liked” brand

PurposeBrand “Likes” on Facebook facilitate self-expression, forming part of consumers’ virtual selves. Yet, consumers’ brand “Likes” may bear little resemblance to their material realities. This paper aims to test similarities of brand image with self-image for Facebook “Likes” to determine whether self-congruence with a “Liked” brand leads to positive offline brand outcomes. It also investigates whether consumers’ perceptions about their Facebook social relations influence self-congruent brand “Likes”.Design/methodology/approachA large-scale survey was conducted of regular Facebook users who “Liked” brands. Data from 438 respondents was analysed and hypotheses tested using structural equation modeling.FindingsEmpirical results show that the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand increases with social tie strength. Perceived social tie strength is informed by perceived attitude homophily. When the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand is higher, brand love and word of mouth (WOM) are enhanced. Consumers also have greater brand loyalty and offer more WOM when brands are loved.Research limitations/implicationsFindings demonstrate the influence of consumers’ cognitive network on “Likes” and brand outcomes. Further replication would enhance generalisability. Future research should use a wider sample and investigate other variables.Practical implicationsFindings support managers seeking to grow and analyse Facebook “Likes” by providing insights into brand loyalty, brand love and WOM for “Liked” brands.Originality/valueThe paper addresses the dearth of research exploring how consumers’ perceptions of their Facebook network influence their online brand behaviour and how perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand relates to brand outcomes.

Impact of social relationships on electronic word of mouth in social networking sites: a study of Indian social network users

This study focused on the understanding of consumers' use of social networking sites as a vehicle for electronic word of mouth. The hypotheses examined the impact of social relationship variables-social capital, tie strength, attitude homophily, background homophily, trust, normative influence, and informational influence on electronic word of mouth behaviour in social networking sites. For testing the hypothesised relationships between the predictors and electronic word of mouth behaviour variables, structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied on the data collected from social networks' users. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted, followed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). It was concluded that social capital, background homophily, normative influence, informational influence emerged to be strong significant predictors of electronic word of mouth, and attitude homophily and trust were found to be partially significant. Only tie strength was not found to be a significant predictor.

YouTube vloggers' influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions

This study examines how video blogs (vlogs) influence consumer perceptions of luxury brands. Using para-social interaction (PSI) and social comparison theory, this study proposes a model that assesses the influence of physical attractiveness, social attractiveness, and attitude homophily of video blogger (vlogger) on PSI; and PSI effects on luxury brand perceptions (i.e., brand luxury, luxury brand value, and brand-user-imagery fit) and luxury brand purchase intentions. Study 1 tests the hypothesized model using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results supported the proposed model. Using within-subject design by comparing pre- and post-luxury perceptions, Study 2 finds luxury brand perceptions were significantly increased after watching vlog and increases were moderated by PSI with the vlogger. Study 3 investigated vlog effects on luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions using between-subject design. Results show that luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions for the experimental groups, who watched vlogs reviewing luxury products, were higher than control group, who did not watch vlog. Overall, the findings generally support for PSI as a brand management tool and the use of YouTube for positive perceptions of luxury brands.

Herd behavior in consumers’ adoption of online reviews

It has been demonstrated that online consumer reviews are an important source of information that affect individuals’ purchase decision making. To understand the influence of online reviews, this study extends prior research on information adoption by incorporating the perspective of herd behavior. We develop and empirically test a research model using data collected from an existing book review site. We report 2 major findings. First, argument quality and source credibility predict information usefulness, which affects the adoption of online reviews. Second, we determine that the adoption of online reviews is also influenced by 2 herd factors, namely, discounting own information and imitating others. We further identify the key determinants of these herd factors, including background homophily and attitude homophily. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

From social anxiety to interpersonal connectedness: Relationship building within face-to-face, phone and instant messaging mediums

The present research examined whether social anxiety moderates the potential relationship between conversation medium and interpersonal connectedness. Hypotheses predicted that individuals with high social anxiety would demonstrate greater interpersonal connectedness following instant messaging conversations; whereas, individuals with low social anxiety would report greater interpersonal connectedness following face-to-face and phone conversations. Undergraduate participants (N = 165) were randomly assigned to one of three conversation mediums (face-to-face, phone or instant messaging) during which they engaged in an interaction with an unfamiliar partner. Participants completed a measure of social anxiety before the interaction and measures of interpersonal connectedness prior to and following the interaction. Results revealed that level of social anxiety is a significant contingent condition for the association between type of conversation medium and attitude homophily (i.e., a measure of interpersonal connectedness). For individuals with low social anxiety, scores on the attitude homophily measure were significantly lower in the instant messaging condition, compared to the face-to-face and phone conditions.

EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF THE YOUTUBE CELEBRITY ON LUXURY BRAND MANAGEMENT: A PARASOCIAL INTERACTION APPROACH

The emergence of the video blog (vlog) and the success of so-called “YouTube celebrities” have provided luxury brands with a new marketing tool to connect with consumers. In particular, the video-sharing site YouTube, allows anyone from an amateur to a professional the opportunity to create and upload a video, which can possibly be shared by hundreds of millions of viewers instantaneously and inexpensively (Freeman & Chapman, 2007).The present study examines how video blog (vlog) influences luxury brand perceptions based on parasocial interaction (PSI) framework. PSI has been studied extensively in communication research and provides a foundational understanding for the one-way relationship experienced between a media personality and media users. PSI is often referred to as a “friendship” with a media personality (Perse & Rubin, 1989; Rubin et al., 2003; Eyal & Rubin, 2003) and media users often seek advice from media personalities as if they were friends (Rubin et al., 1985). In addition, social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) is used to explain the effect of PSI on customers’ luxury brand perceptions. According to the social comparison theory, individuals evaluate themselves by comparing what they possess and consume to that of others. Since individuals are likely to compare themselves with significant others and peers who share a similar outlook and common values, they would compare their luxury possessions and consumption to that of vloggers as PSI increases. Therefore, this study proposes influences of physical attractiveness, social attractiveness and attitude homophily of video blogger (vlogger) on PSI; and PSI effects on luxury brand perceptions (i.e., brand luxury, luxury brand value, and brand-user-imagery fit) followed by luxury brand purchase intentions.Study 1 tested the hypothesized model using structural equation modeling, and the results support the proposed model. Additionally, Study 2 investigated vlog effects on luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions using ANOVA. The result showed luxury brand perceptions and purchase intentions for the experimental groups, who watched vlogs about review of luxury products, were higher than control group, who did not watch vlog. Overall, results of this study found general support for PSI as a brand management tool as well as the use of social media to lead to positive luxury brand perceptions.

Facebook Politics: Toward a Process Model for Achieving Political Source Credibility Through Social Media

The last two election cycles have seen an exponential rise in the number of political campaigns integrating some form of social media into their communication plans. As candidates and campaigns increase their social media communications, political communication scholars have become increasingly interested in the process through which voters assess political candidates’ credibility through social networking sites. Using experimental data, this study examines the mediating role of attitude homophily in establishing political candidates’ source credibility among Facebook users. A multiple mediation model outlines a process wherein attitude homophily mediates the relationship between political cues and evaluations of source credibility. Theoretical and practical implications of the results for political social media campaigns are discussed.

Source valence in assessing candidate image in a local election

Many have speculated and researched the effects of candidate image on voting preference, hut the concept remains elusive. This study investigated source valence as a multidimensional concept composed of the communication variables of credibility, homophily, and attraction as an operationalization of candidate image and predictor of voting behavior. Not all dimensions of source credibility were predictive of voters’ choice of a candidate in a local election, but competence and attitude homophily were found to affect voters’ selection of a candidate. It is suggested that the findings indicate a need to reassess the role of political campaigns in voters’ decision making.

Students’ perceptions of the credibility and homophily of native and non‐native English speaking teaching assistants

This study provides an initial effort to determine students’ perceptions of native and non‐native English speaking male and female teachers. Native English speaking teachers rated higher than non‐native English speakers on perceived background and attitude homophily and on character, but not on competence. Females were perceived higher than males in character, competence, and background homophily, but not on attitude homophily.

CANDIDATE VALENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF VOTER PREFERENCE

The effects of source valence, including its components source credibility, attraction, and homophily, on voter preference were examined in this study. A systematic sample with a random start of 350 registered Democratic voters in Tallahassee, Florida, was used to test the effects of eight dimensions of source valence on voter preference. The differential valence of the two candidates was the best predictor of voter preference. The eight-variable model accounted for 61% of the variance in voter preference, while attitude homophily alone accounted for 58% of that variance.