The Impact of Instructional Technology Use, Course Design, and Sex Differences on Students’ Initial Perceptions of Instructor Credibility

Abstract

This study explores the impact that instructional technology use, course design, and sex differences have on students’ initial perceptions of instructors’ credibility (i.e., competence, trustworthiness, and perceived caring). Participants included 864 students from two Midwestern universities who were randomly assigned to one of 16 experimental conditions (i.e., scenarios) manipulating the use of technology across two types of courses and across two types of instructors (i.e., male and female instructors). Multivariate analyses revealed a two-way interaction effect of technology use by student sex on perceptions of instructor credibility. Follow-up procedures revealed both a curvilinear and a linear effect for technology use on students’ perceptions of instructor competence. In terms of instructor trustworthiness, however, only a curvilinear effect emerged. Finally, the results suggested that technology use has both a curvilinear and a linear effect on perceptions of perceived caring, though the linear effect size was marginal at best. Among the most important implications of this research is the fact that technology use produced the strongest effect size for the perceived caring dimension of instructor credibility.

Keywords:

• Instructional technology
• Credibility
• Competence
• Trustworthiness
• Caring
• Course type

Notes

Paul D. Turman (PhD, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, 2000) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Northern Iowa. The authors extend their appreciation to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions. A previous version of this manuscript was presented as a Top Four Paper to the Instructional Communication Interest Group at the 2004 Western States Communication Association's annual convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Correspondence should be directed to the first author.

The four experimental scenarios are available from the first author. The remaining 12 scenarios were created by manipulating the four levels of technology across two types of instructors (male instructor×female instructor), and across two types of courses (“large lecture, multiple section communication course”דsmall, upper-division communication theory course”).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul Schrodt

Paul D. Turman (PhD, University of Nebraska—Lincoln, 2000) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Northern Iowa. The authors extend their appreciation to the editor and two anonymous reviewers for their suggestions. A previous version of this manuscript was presented as a Top Four Paper to the Instructional Communication Interest Group at the 2004 Western States Communication Association's annual convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Correspondence should be directed to the first author.