Credibility

When considering credibility and deception, one may think of relational credibility, or one may consider credibility of information, such as journalistic credibility. To fully understand the scope of credibility and its role in deception, one must examine both contexts. The word credibility can be traced back to Aristotle and his Rhetoric, in which he stated the following:

Aristotle used the Greek word ethos to refer to credibility. When considering the classic mode of the concept of credibility, insight is gained from understanding the three components of ethos. According to Aristotle, ethos is made up of intelligence, virtue, and good will. Each of the three components is connected to what Aristotle refers to as hexis, or “habits.” Intelligence is a mental habit, virtue is a moral habit, and good will is an emotional habit.

Ethos or credibility, as defined by the classicists, is created by what people say, or the message, and is dynamic, ever-changing. Just because a person has credibility does not mean that he or she will always have it. Credibility is a caused response; it is earned through the message or the actions of the person. One cannot discuss credibility without mentioning the seminal work of psychologist Carl Hovland, who investigated source credibility and the connection it had with the likelihood of message acceptance.

If credibility is something that is earned, one may ask how is it earned, or what is the best way or earning the highest credibility. Early research maintained that credibility was connected with expertness and trustworthiness; however, later research provided evidence questioning this oversimplification of credibility. General trustworthiness and how much one is worthy of confidence remain important elements of personal credibility. Credibility is often assessed in terms of intent as well as reliability and accuracy. Long-term consistency in reliability and accuracy leads to a good reputation or greater credibility. Building a [Page 233]history of accuracy is an important determinant of credibility. Another determinant is confidence. Confidence is considered to be one of the most prevalent indicators of assessing one's credibility.