The effect of expressing uncertainty in communication.
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2020-06-08
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en
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Abstract
This study explored the effect of certainty and uncertainty markers used in an email on the perceived authoritativeness, trustworthiness, competence and sociability of the manager. This was made possible through an online survey that included three different versions of the email from which the participants were randomly assigned and read one version of. The different versions of the emails contained only certainty markers, only uncertainty markers and no markers at all respectively. The participants evaluated the authoritativeness, trustworthiness, competence and sociability of the manager that supposedly composed that email. After reading the email, participants filled out a questionnaire using a seven-point Likert scale. The evaluations did not differ between the groups that were exposed to the different versions of the email. This showed that certainty and uncertainty markers had no significant effect on the perceived authoritativeness, trustworthiness, competence and sociability of the manager.
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