Abstract

This study explores how viewers process YouTube apology videos and how those processing methods relate to their judgments of the creator and their willingness to continue engaging with the channel. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model, a single-session online survey experiment randomly assigned 413 adult participants to watch one of five publicly available apology videos from well-known YouTubers. After viewing, participants reported the extent to which they engaged in central versus peripheral processing, rated the creator's credibility and the apology's sincerity, and indicated their intentions to engage. Central processing was positively associated with engagement intentions, whereas peripheral processing was weakly negatively associated. Credibility and sincerity were positively associated with engagement intentions, whereas peripheral processing was associated with lower credibility and sincerity. Comparisons between unfamiliar and familiar viewers indicated that relationships among processing, appraisals, and engagement were more pronounced among unfamiliar viewers; among familiar viewers, engagement intentions were more closely related to credibility and sincerity than to processing measures. Overall, the findings highlight central-route processing and perceived credibility as key predictors of intended engagement in digital apology contexts and suggest that peripheral cues and viewer familiarity condition responses to YouTuber apologies.

Publication Date

12-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Communication (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Communication, Department

College

College of Liberal Arts

Advisor

Tracy Worrell

Advisor/Committee Member

David Neumann

Advisor/Committee Member

Eun Sook Kwon

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

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