Viewers Rank Tiger Woods' Apology Second Among Celebrity Apologies

FLEMINGTON, N.J., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Results from a national media study among 1,090 Americans revealed that Tiger Woods' apology for his extramarital affairs was ranked second among other celebrity apologies in 2009 and 2010.

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The results were based on a series of studies that were conducted by HCD Research using its MediaCurves.com® website during 2009-2010. The studies were conducted among Americans who ranked various celebrity apologies on a scale based on levels of sincerity. Respondents ranked celebrities who were featured in news stories that were tested by MediaCurves.com® in 2009 and 2010. To view detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

Chris Brown's apology for assaulting Rihanna scored a 17.2 with regard to the change in perceived sincerity levels, compared to Woods' apology, which scored a 7.9 with regard to the change in perceived sincerity levels. Additionally, men and women rated the sincerity of Woods' apology similarly after viewing the press conference, with 61% of women reporting that it was sincere and 58% of men reporting that it was sincere.

Among the findings:

The scores below indicate the percent change in celebrities' sincerity scores based on a scale of 1-7 before and after respondents viewed the apologies. Higher scores indicate higher levels of perceived sincerity. Positive scores indicate an increase in perceived sincerity and negative scores indicate a decrease in perceived sincerity.

    
    
                                  SINCERITY
    Chris Brown apologizing for assaulting Rihanna          17.2
    Tiger Woods apologizing for his affairs                  7.9
    David Letterman's sex scandal confession                 4.3
    Governor Mark Sanford apologizing for his affair         3.2
    David Letterman apologizing for Palin joke              -2.3
    Jaimee Grubbs apologizing to Tiger Woods' wife          -5.9
    John Mayer Apologizing for Playboy Interview           -13.6

Do you think that Tiger Woods' apology was sincere?

    
    
                                        Men                  Women
    Yes                                 58%                   61%
    No                                  42%                   39%

While viewing the video, participants indicated their perceived levels of sincerity by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. The participants were also asked to respond to post-viewing questions.

HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. MediaCurves.com® (www.mediacurves.com) is a media measurement website that provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans' perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.

SOURCE HCD Research, Inc.