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Do masks matter? Consumer perceptions of social media influencers who wear face masks amid the COVID‐19 pandemic
Author(s) -
Klucarova Sona
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
applied psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.497
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1464-0597
pISSN - 0269-994X
DOI - 10.1111/apps.12345
Subject(s) - influencer marketing , perception , credibility , pandemic , psychology , social media , context (archaeology) , face masks , social distance , covid-19 , face (sociological concept) , social psychology , advertising , medicine , business , sociology , marketing , political science , paleontology , social science , disease , pathology , neuroscience , relationship marketing , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law , biology , marketing management
The rapid spread of COVID‐19 brought about an increased use of face masks among the general public. Focusing on disposable surgical masks in particular, this article examines consumer perceptions of and intentions toward social media influencers who wear such masks amid the pandemic. Drawing on the theory of product symbolism, this research experimentally demonstrates that masked (vs. unmasked) influencers remind consumers of highly competent healthcare professionals, leading in turn to greater competence inferences about and more favorable behavioral intentions toward these influencers. Additional analysis demonstrates that this effect might not hold for other groups of professionals who are considered relatively competent at the outset and/or whose profession is less reliant on external cues. Overall, this research suggests that apart from curtailing the spread of the pandemic, mask wearing might prove beneficial to certain groups of professionals, such as social media influencers, who have traditionally struggled to establish credibility. In a broader context, this research establishes mask wearing as a new form of nonverbal communication that warrants further examination.