Investigating the role of speaker coherence in rule-following preferences between news outlets

Rule-following is informed by multiple variables. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of coherence or “sense-making” in the process of rule-following. The present study investigated the role of speaker coherence in rule-following preferences between newspaper outlets. Participants (N = 64) viewed four news articles that had been published in two Irish outlets (referred to as “Paper A” and “Paper B”). Each article was categorized by level of coherence and level of controversy. Rule-following was measured through participants rating their likelihood of adopting new habits and following advice from the news outlet after reading each story. Participants also selected their preferred outlet from which to follow general advice at the end of the study. Results indicated that participants had greater rule-following preferences for Paper A, in which both of the “high-coherence” stories were published, regardless of how controversial they rated the article to be. Speaker coherence was discussed in terms of its impact on a media outlet’s credibility and avenues for reducing polarization.