Response to Negative Student Evaluations on RateMyProfessors.com: The Effect of Instructor Statements of Credibility on Student Cognitive Learning, Likelihood of Enrollment, and State Motivation to Learn

• In Event: Top Papers in Instructional and Developmental Communication Division

Abstract

Students often utilize RateMyProfessors.com to find information about their instructors before taking a class with them. Prior research showed that instructor reviews on RateMyProfessors.com affected student cognitive learning, perceptions toward the instructor, and student state motivation to learn. Extending previous work by applying a Web 2.0 participatory framework (Walther & Jang, 2012), the current research examines the effect of instructor responses to negative student evaluations on RateMyProfessors.com. The responses focused on the primary dimensions of credibility: competence, trustworthiness, and caring. In an original experiment, the results demonstrated that statements of trustworthiness robustly increased cognitive learning and likelihood of enrollment. Competence and caring increased only likelihood of enrollment. However, instructor responses failed to influence student state motivation to learn. Implications for instructors and theoretical contributions to Web 2.0 are discussed.

Author

• Yuhua (Jake) Liang, Chapman University