Editing Credibility (section)

==In teaching==
Students' perception of instructors has great importance and possible consequences.  Instructor credibility, which is defined as "the attitude of a receiver which references the degree to which a source is seen to be believable",<ref name="mcc intro">McCroskey, J. C. (1998). An introduction to communication in the classroom (2nd ed.).Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.</ref> consists of three dimensions-, competence, character, and caring.<ref>Teven, J. J., McCroskey, J. C. (1997). The relationship of perceived teacher caring with student learning and teacher evaluation. Communication Education, 46, 1–9.</ref> Competence focuses on his or her expertise or knowledge in a subject matter.<ref name="mcc intro"/> Character refers to the "goodness" (i.e., honesty, trustworthiness) of an instructor.<ref name="fry per">Frymier, A. B., & Thompson, C. A. (1992). Perceived teacher affinity-seeking in relation to perceived teacher credibility. Communication Education, 41, 388–399.</ref> Caring focuses on whether the instructor shows concern or empathy for the students' welfare or situation.<ref name="mcc intro"/> Although an instructor may show one or two of these qualities, the best and most respected exude all three qualities.<ref name="mcc intro"/> A study done by Atkinson and Cooper revealed that students who are taught by an instructor  perceive as credible, results in extreme allegiance to those instructors.

Generally, instructors who are perceived to have credibility are associated with effective teaching skills. Instructors who demonstrate competence, character, and/or caring are perceived to engage in a variety of effective instructional communication behaviors such as argumentativeness,<ref>Schrodt, P. (2003). Students' appraisals of instructors as a function of students' perceptions of instructors' aggressive communication. Communication Education, 52, 106–121.</ref> verbal and nonverbal immediacy,<ref>Johnson, S. D., Miller, A. N. (2002). A cross-cultural study of immediacy, credibility, and learning in the U.S. and Kenya. Communication Education, 51, 280–292.</ref> affinity seeking,<ref name="fry per"/> and assertiveness and responsiveness.<ref>Martin, M. M., Chesebro, J. L., Mottet, T. P. (1997). Students' perceptions of instructors' socio-communicative style and the influence on instructor credibility and situational motivation. Communication Research Reports, 14, 431-44i0.</ref> Moreover, credible instructors are perceived to be low in verbal aggressiveness<ref>Martin, M. M., Weber, K., Burant, P. A. (1997, April). Students' perceptions of a teacher's use of slang and verbal aggressiveness in a lecture: An experiment. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association, Baltimore, MD.</ref> and less likely to use behaviors that interfere with student learning.<ref>Thweatt, K. S., McCroskey, J. C. (1998). The impact of teacher immediacy and misbehaviors on teacher credibility. Communication Education, 47, 348–358.</ref>

Unlike instructor competence which centers on instructors' perceived expertise,<ref name="mcc intro"/> instructor character and caring are rooted in students' perceptions of their instructors' interpersonal communication behaviors.  Students can feel more connected to the material being taught and have the information stay in their mind, if the instructor sharing the information has credibility.  According to studies, when instructors exemplify the qualities of character (i.e., kind, virtuous, good) and caring (i.e., empathetic, understanding, responsive), students report a greater likelihood of communicating with them.<ref name="myers relat">Myers, S. A. (2004). The Relationship between Perceived Instructor Credibility and College Student In-class and Out-of-class Communication. Communication Reports, 17(2), 129–137. {{doi|10.1080/08934210409389382}}.</ref>

Teachers who are concerned with whether students communicate with them, either in class or out of class, may want to reconsider the role their own in-class communication behaviors play in students' willingness or likelihood to communicate with them. Instructors who are interested in how students perceive their competence, character, and caring should examine how their in-class communication behaviors contribute to these perceptions. They can evaluate themselves, go back over their lectures, scores that students give them at the end of the semester, and seek advice and training from their peers. By doing so, instructors may find students are more willing, likely, or interested in communicating with them. 
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