Briana Anderson - Cornell University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION……………………………………………….1
CHAPTER TWO – BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF STUDY………………..3
Credibility……………………………………………………………………..3
Corporate Social Responsibility………………………………………………5
Endorsers……………………………………………………………………...6
Explaining the Attractiveness-Credibility Link: Attribution Theory…………9
Outcomes of Attractiveness………………………………………………….10
Endorser Credibility and Corporate Credibility – What’s the Relationship?...11
Role of Cognitive Involvement………………………………………………15
Research Questions…………………………………………………………..16
CHAPTER THREE – EXPECTATIONS……………………………………………17
Hypotheses……………………………………………………………………20
CHAPTER FOUR – METHOD………………………………………………………22
Stimulus Materials……………………………………………………………22
Independent Variable: Attractiveness of the Endorser………………………25
Attractiveness and Believability Pretest……………………………………...25
Dependent Variables: Corporate Credibility and Endorser Credibility………27
Control Variable………………………………………………………………31
Other Variables……………………………………………………………….32
CHAPTER FIVE – RESULTS……………………………………………………….33
Pretest Results………………………………………………………………...33
Demographic and Involvement Frequencies………………………………….37
Control Variables……………………………………………………………..37
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