Dr. Leese has such an inCREDIBLE staff this year…

 Being an RA (resident’s assistant) is kind of like being a camp counselor for adults. It is awkward at times, particularly because the people for whom I am supposed to be an authority figure are actually my peers (i.e. my sorority sisters, classmates, and oftentimes the very same people I see when I’m out and about on the weekends). Some of my responsibilities as an RA include acting as a mediator of conflict, ensuring that residents abide by the SU policy, and establishing an overall positive living environment for my hall. Each of these responsibilities requires persuasion in some capacity, and if I am going to be able to persuade my residents, I must be a credible source (Pornpitakpan, 2004).

When residents ask me questions about policies, it is important that I answer competently (Hass, 1981). If I sound like I’m not really sure whether half-naked 20 year-olds are allowed to binge drink in the middle of my hall, there’s a good possibility that residents will not pay attention when I try to discourage such behavior later in the semester. When I am mediating a conflict, I must also demonstrate the expertise I acquired through training. An incompetent RA would side with one student, be argumentative, and not be a good listener. If I am going to be credible in the advice I give to my residents, I must listen to both sides of the story, not show favoritism, and do my best to calm down everyone involved. If I show that I have control over the situation, residents are more likely to be persuaded by the advice I offer.

Trustworthiness is also a very important quality in a credible RA. If residents don’t feel like they can trust me to keep their conflict confidential, they will not seek help from me. When it comes to policy, if residents see me blatantly going against policy, they are less likely to respect me when I try to write them up for their own misdeeds. In fact, if students see me binge-drinking in the middle of the hall, they’re even more likely to binge-drink in the hall than they were before. After all, if the person who told you not to do this at the beginning of the semester is now doing it, then her stance cannot be trusted, therefore she is no longer a credible source.

Anyways, I guess what I’m getting at is that persuasion is inherent in everything we do, whether trying to get people to come to an event or sign a petition or go on a date with you. And it’s important that we realize that for each persuasive role we take on, we also take on the responsibility of being a credible source. Otherwise our attempts to persuade others will be absolutely futile. Without competence in our area and trust from our audience, the task of persuasion is particularly challenging.

Hass, R. G. (1981). Effects of source characteristics on the cognitive processing of persuasive messages and attitude change. In R. Petty, T. Ostrom, & T. Brock (Eds.), Cognitive responses in persuasion (pp. 141-172). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

Pornpitakpan, C. (2004). The persuasiveness of source credibility: A critical review of five decades’ evidence. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 24, 243-281.