The Credibility of Physically Attractive Communicators: A Review

Abstract

This review summarizes experimental evidence from advertising and related disciplines on the effects of physically attractive communicators and models on opinion change, product evaluation, source perception, and recall, among other dependent measures. The evidence indicates that attractive (vs. unattractive) communicators consistently are liked more, are perceived in more favorable terms, and have a positive impact on the products with which they are associated. Source attractiveness is also related positively to agreement although the effects appear to be less consistent, especially when the communicator is female. The review includes a critical assessment of previous studies and presents specific directions for future research.