SCEPTICISM
According to the Oxford Dictionary (1982), a sceptic is a person who is
inclined to question the truth of facts, inferences, and so on. Mohr et
al. (1998) describe scepticism as one of two constructs that aid in
explaining people’s reactions to communications; cynicism is the
second. While cynicism is characterised by the authors as an enduring
and deep belief, scepticism is more situational and thus not as longlasting.
Further, they quote Kanter and Mirvis (1989, p. 301), who say
that ‘sceptics doubt the substance of communications; cynics not only
doubt what is said but the motives for saying it’. A highly sceptical
person will perceive the accuracy of a claim to be low; a person with a
low level of scepticism will rate the accuracy of a claim to be higher.
Ford et al. (1990) have found that consumers are sceptical of all kinds
of claims, even those that are easily verified.