Showing papers in "Journal of Language and Social Psychology in 2010"
TL;DR: The Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) system as discussed by the authors is a text analysis system that counts words in psychologically meaningful categories to detect meaning in a wide variety of experimental settings, including to show attentional focus, emotionality, social relationships, thinking styles and individual differences.
Abstract: We are in the midst of a technological revolution whereby, for the first time, researchers can link daily word use to a broad array of real-world behaviors. This article reviews several computerized text analysis methods and describes how Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) was created and validated. LIWC is a transparent text analysis program that counts words in psychologically meaningful categories. Empirical results using LIWC demonstrate its ability to detect meaning in a wide variety of experimental settings, including to show attentional focus, emotionality, social relationships, thinking styles, and individual differences.
4,356 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the role of discourses in the construction and regulation of sporting masculinity within a semiprofessional British football (soccer) team and found that these discourses have limited influence beyond the playing field, highlighting the segmentation of the sporting and social identities of these players.
Abstract: This study examined how coaches and players constructed and regulated masculinity in organized sport. Using participant observation, the authors examined the role of discourses in the construction and regulation of sporting masculinity within a semiprofessional British football (soccer) team. Two predominant discourses were present: (a) masculinity establishing discourse and (b) masculinity challenging discourse—heuristic tools to understand the use of toxic language in the construction and maintenance of masculinity. Coaches frequently used discourses that drew on narratives of war, gender, and sexuality to facilitate aggressive and violent responses for enhancing athletic performance. However, the authors also found that these discourses have limited influence beyond the playing field, highlighting the segmentation of the sporting and social identities of these players and a loosening of the traditional and empirically evidenced ability of sports to socialize men into narrow forms of masculinity.
225 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the experiences of speakers with non-native accents and found that the nonnative accent affects the attitudes and perceptions of listeners, whereas past research on nonnative accents has focused on attitudes and perception of listeners.
Abstract: Whereas past research on nonnative accents has focused on the attitudes and perceptions of listeners, the current research explores the experiences of speakers with nonnative accents. Two studies i...
151 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a framework for understanding research on the intersection between language, communication, and intergroup contact, which accounts for the variation in forms of contact studied by arraying them in two-dimensional space organized by involvement of self in contact and richness of self-outgroup experience.
Abstract: This article presents a new framework for understanding research on the intersection between language, communication, and intergroup contact. Contact theory has described a variety of ways in which contact between groups can reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations. However, the field has become fragmented by the study of a variety of forms of contact whose interconnections have not been elucidated, and it has paid insufficient attention to the language and communicative dynamics of the contact event itself. This article accounts for the variation in forms of contact studied by arraying them in two-dimensional space organized by (a) involvement of self in contact and (b) richness of self-outgroup experience. The former pertains to whether an individual is directly involved in interaction with an outgroup member (vs. merely observing such contact); the latter pertains to the multiplicity of channels and senses through which one experiences the outgroup member. These two dimensions are argued to be largely orthogonal. The two-dimensional space is used to organize mediators and moderators in the field, to specify in detail the intersection between contact and issues of language and communication, as well as to outline areas of particular promise for specific contact interventions.
127 citations
TL;DR: This paper investigated how culture influences self-construal and self-expression on Facebook, and found that culture plays a significant role in influencing the communication of psychological attributes, individuating information, and the quantity of self-descriptive expression.
Abstract: This article investigated how culture influences self-construal and self-expression on Facebook, a popular social networking site. To examine actual self-description representative of self-construal, unaltered independently existing information was garnered from the Facebook pages of Caucasian Americans, African Americans, and ethnic Asians attending a Midwestern University. Findings indicated that culture plays a significant role in influencing the communication of psychological attributes, individuating information, and the quantity of self-descriptive expression. Furthermore, evidence and argumentation are provided for a greater inclusion of African Americans in self-construal research.
77 citations
TL;DR: The authors used theories of agenda setting and framing to examine NBC's Americanized telecast in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and found that five sports (gymnastics, diving, swimming, track and field, and beach volleyball) received more than 90% of prime-time coverage, which set an agenda about which sports were most relevant for Americans to watch.
Abstract: This study used theories of agenda setting and framing to examine NBC’s Americanized telecast in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Five sports (gymnastics, diving, swimming, track and field, and beach volleyball) received more than 90% of the prime-time coverage, which set an agenda about which sports were most relevant for Americans to watch. The limited scope within NBC’s televised agenda, in turn, facilitated the gendered framing of Olympians through sport commentator accounts. Gendered differences were statistically present in only four sports; diving had no significant differences, whereas beach volleyball contained the most differences. Implications and directions for future research are explored.
74 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a demographically controlled sample of listener-judges rated spontaneous speech samples that are representative of four regions in the Netherlands, and from which potentially competing linguistic cues (e.g., pitch and intonation) had not been removed.
Abstract: This article investigates native speakers’ attitudes toward accent variation in Netherlandic Standard Dutch. Adopting the speaker evaluation paradigm, a demographically controlled sample of listener-judges rated spontaneous speech samples that are representative of four regions in the Netherlands, and from which potentially competing linguistic cues (e.g., pitch and intonation) had not been removed. Speech stimuli were rated on a set of scales integrated from among previous studies conducted in the Low Countries. Regionally marked standard accents activated distinct attitude profiles that were largely invariant with respect to the age, gender, level of education, and regional provenance of the listener-judges. It is argued that these regionally flavored standard varieties were found to be more than social categorization cues: Data reveal that an accent elicits perceptions of its so-called intrinsic euphony and norm status in addition to the status and integrity of its speakers.
54 citations
TL;DR: This article examined how individuals' gendered avatar might alter their use of gender-based language (i.e., references to emotion, apologies, and tentative language) in text-based computer-mediated communication.
Abstract: This research examined how individuals’ gendered avatar might alter their use of gender-based language (i.e., references to emotion, apologies, and tentative language) in text-based computer-mediated communication. Specifically, the experiment tested if men and women would linguistically assimilate a virtual gender identity intimated by randomly assigned gendered avatars (either matched or mismatched to their true gender). Results supported the notion that gender-matched avatars increase the likelihood of gender-typical language use, whereas gender-mismatched avatars promoted countertypical language, especially among women. The gender of a partner’s avatar, however, did not influence participants’ language. Results generally comport with self-categorization theory’s gender salience explanation of gender-based language use.
46 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigate how television sport commentators negotiate tensions between stereotypes of a particular country's playing style and on-field action that challenges those stereotypes, and identify three different ways in which national stereotypes lead commentators to produce interpretations that do not always accurately represent the action on the field.
Abstract: Televised sport offers a rich context for investigating the processes that influence particular uses of language. Here, the authors consider how pressure on sport commentators to connect with audiences results in reliance on preestablished narratives that draw heavily on stereotypes. They investigate how television sport commentators negotiate tensions between stereotypes of a particular country’s playing style and on-field action that challenges those stereotypes. Their interdisciplinary approach—drawing from social psychology, communication, media studies, sport studies, and cultural studies—provides a textual analysis of New Zealand commentary in a pivotal Rugby World Cup game between France and New Zealand. The authors identify three different ways in which national stereotypes lead commentators to produce interpretations that do not always accurately represent the action on the field. They conclude that sport commentary in an international context operates to create and reinscribe symbolic difference...
39 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that participants spent most time fixating the face with just 2.1% of the time looking at gestures, but with certain categories of gesture, up to 26.5% of stroke phases were successfully fixated.
Abstract: In everyday communication, semantic information is transmitted by both speech and the gestures that accompany speech. Listeners, therefore, need to monitor two quite different sources of information, more or less simultaneously. But we know little about the nature or timing of this process.This study analysed participants’ attentional focus on speech—gesture combinations, differing in both span and viewpoint, using a remote eye tracker. It found that participants spent most time fixating the face with just 2.1% of the time looking at gestures, but with certain categories of gesture, up to 26.5% of the stroke phases were successfully fixated. In other words, visual attention moves unconsciously and quickly to these information-rich movements. It was also found that low-span Character-Viewpoint gestures attracted most fixations and were looked at longest. Such gestures are particularly communicative, and the way these gestures attract visual attention may well be a crucial factor.
38 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined the effect of single and dual ethnic minority labels (e.g., "Turks" and "Turkish Dutch") on the attitude of Dutch majority group members, and found that attitudes were more positive toward minority groups that are described with dual labels compared with single labels.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of single (e.g., “Turks”) and dual ethnic minority labels (“Turkish Dutch”) on the attitude of (Dutch) majority group members. Following the dual identity version of the common in-group identity model, it was predicted that attitudes will be more positive toward minority groups that are described with dual labels compared with single labels. In addition, it was expected that the effect of labeling on out-group attitudes will be stronger for participants who endorse multiculturalism. The findings are in agreement with these different predictions, but alternative interpretations are discussed. The results show the importance of labeling in interethnic relations.
TL;DR: This article examined grandchildren's relational and communicative responses to grandparents' painful self-disclosures (PSDs) and found that discomfort with PSDs is more significant in differentiating positive and negative aspects of the grandparent-grandchild relationship than simply the occurrence of such disclosures.
Abstract: This study examined grandchildren’s relational and communicative responses to grandparents’ painful self-disclosures (PSDs). From the perspective of young adult grandchildren (N = 297), discomfort with PSDs is more significant in differentiating positive and negative aspects of the grandparent—grandchild relationship than simply the occurrence of such disclosures. Furthermore, results reveal that the family communication environment and communicative responsiveness of the grandchild are important factors in predicting discomfort with PSDs as well as grandchildren’s communication with grandparents.
TL;DR: This article examined how fans used computer-mediated communication to discuss allegations of racism in American Division I College Football hiring practices and found that the online commentary produced an ideology that claimed racism as nonexistent, blamed the victims of racism for their underrepresentation, and suggested any lingering racism is against Whites.
Abstract: The online consumption of sport is becoming increasingly popular among sports fans. This study examined how fans used computer-mediated communication to discuss allegations of racism in American Division I College Football hiring practices. A thematic analysis of 1,254 postings to an ESPN.com discussion forum revealed that fans addressed the issue through messages of (a) transference, (b) irrelevance, (c) reverse racism, and (d) recognition. Results suggest that the online commentary (re)produced an ideology that (a) claims racism as nonexistent, (b) blames the victims of racism for their underrepresentation, and (c) suggests any lingering racism is against Whites (e.g., Whites are victims of reverse discrimination). The findings reveal how computer-mediated communication domains are important sites for examining how fans’ messages (re)produce societal beliefs about the role and relevance of race in sport.
TL;DR: This paper used matched guise experiment to examine the impact of the English variable (ING) on social perceptions of speakers presented as professors, political candidates, or experienced professionals, such that professors were seen as more knowledgeable when using -ing, whereas experienced professionals were more knowledgeable in their -in guises.
Abstract: Speakers build linguistic styles by combining elements of existing styles, a process known as bricolage , which results in stylistic resources appearing across multiple styles. Although speakers’ ability to construct and deploy styles across situations has been documented repeatedly, little perceptual work has been done on how linguistic cues function across styles. This study used a matched guise experiment to examine the impact of the English variable (ING) on social perceptions of speakers presented as professors, political candidates, or experienced professionals. As predicted, profession shifted the impact of (ING) on perceived knowledgeability, such that professors were seen as more knowledgeable when using -ing, whereas experienced professionals were more knowledgeable in their -in guises. Use of -in also made all speakers sound less caring and created a positive relationship between political progressiveness and caring in perceptions of political candidates.
TL;DR: In a special issue on sport, language, and culture as discussed by the authors, the authors briefly outline the individual, social, and cultural significance of sport, asserting it as an important site for scholarly theory and research.
Abstract: This article introduces a special issue on sport, language, and culture.We briefly outline the individual, social, and cultural significance of sport, asserting it as an important site for scholarly theory and research. But sport is a dynamic site that occurs across multiple levels (individuals, teams, organizations, locales, cultures, and nations). We argue that language, representations, and other discursive practices are pivotal for the construction and enactment of sport across these multiple levels. Of the many interconnections and intersections of sport, language, and culture, we further contend that identities and media are crucial; and it is these that provide a resonating link between the articles that comprise the special issue.
TL;DR: In this paper, self-talk is conceptualized as a dialogic phenomenon that is used as a motivational and instructional tool to enhance athletic performance, and the authors re-conceptualize selftalk as a dialogueic phenomenon.
Abstract: Studies in sport psychology focus on “self-talk” as a motivational and instructional tool to enhance athletic performance. This article (re)conceptualizes self-talk as a dialogic phenomenon that is...
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of sport production on sport consumption were examined, and the authors found that consuming sport violence increased participants' hostile expectancy bias, while scriptedness moderated this effect.
Abstract: Extending Raney and Depalma’s research, this study examined effects of sport production on sport consumption. An experimental design crossed scripted (vs. unscripted) sport with violence (vs. nonviolence) to investigate the effects of both variables on violent outcomes and enjoyment. After viewing one of four clips, participants responded to three incomplete story stems, and responses were coded to measure hostile expectancy bias as a form of violent outcome. Participants also responded to their enjoyment of the clip they consumed. Analyses showed a main effect that consuming sport violence increased participants’ hostile expectancy bias. However, a significant interaction showed that scriptedness moderated this effect, such that violence increased hostile expectancy bias only in the scripted condition. Enjoyment was also affected by scriptedness and violence, as violent nonscripted sports were enjoyed more than all other conditions. Results suggest that violence in sports may be interpreted differently b...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors experimented with the duration of the interruption and the conversational role of the target, finding that listeners were more polite than narrators and longer suspensions caused more effort in reinstatement than short suspensions.
Abstract: Dealing with interruptions in collaborative tasks involves two important processes: managing the face of one’s partners and collaboratively reconstructing the topic. In an experiment, pairs were interrupted while narrating personal stories. The duration of the interruption and the conversational role of the target were manipulated. Listeners were more polite than narrators, and longer suspensions caused more effort in reinstatement than short suspensions, but participants were not more polite when suspensions were long.
TL;DR: This article investigated whether variations in speech rate and response latency provide cues for deception, and found gender differences in the type of lie told that depended on speech timing characteristics, and participants listened to a conversation between a male/female couple containing responses to questions that not only varied in timing characteristics but also potential type of lies.
Abstract: This research investigated whether variations in speech rate and response latency provide cues for deception. Participants listened to a conversation between a male/ female couple containing responses to questions that not only varied in timing characteristics but also potential type of lie. Results revealed gender differences in the type of lie told that depended on speech timing characteristics.
TL;DR: This paper explored the relationship between the language that 86 married men used to describe their marriages, other personal characteristics of the men, and the men's wife-directed aggression using linguistic inquiry word count analysis, temperament measures, an empathic accuracy-type paradigm, and signal detection analysis.
Abstract: This research explored the relationships between the language that 86 married men used to describe their marriages, other personal characteristics of the men, and the men’s wife-directed aggression. Methods included linguistic inquiry word count analysis, temperament measures, an empathic accuracy-type paradigm, and signal detection analysis. Husbands’ use of anger words and egocentric words in describing their marriages, along with husbands’ impulsivity, critical/rejecting overattribution bias, and attentional disorder/ impairment predicted the men’s wife-directed aggression. Multiple regression and moderation analyses revealed that men’s use of anger words and first-person pronouns in describing their own marriages were unique predictors of their wife-directed aggression. Also, men’s critical/rejecting overattribution bias and impulsivity interacted to predict the men’s wife-directed aggression. Results are discussed in terms different wife-abuser subtypes and their implications for the treatment of agg...
TL;DR: Overall, this research demonstrates a deficit in politeness for people with PD, a deficit that most likely plays a role in some of the social deficits that have been demonstrated to occur forPeople with PD.
Abstract: Prior research suggests that people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) display certain deficiencies in their use of language. In this research, the authors used a role-playing technique to examine their ability to say things politely and to vary their level of politeness as a function of the social context. PD participants, relative to control participants, produced less polite strategies and failed to vary their politeness as a function of the size of the request. In addition, PD participants who were on high-dosage levels, relative to control and low-dosage PD participants, did not vary their politeness as a function of the recipient’s power. Overall, this research demonstrates a deficit in politeness for people with PD, a deficit that most likely plays a role in some of the social deficits that have been demonstrated to occur for people with PD. Potential neurobiological mechanisms of this deficit are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper examined whether the length of an individual's written explanation for an instance of subtle, attributionally ambiguous racism related to their perception of racism, levels of prejudice, and social dominance orientation.
Abstract: The present study examined whether the length of an individual’s written explanation for an instance of subtle, attributionally ambiguous racism related to their perception of racism, levels of prejudice, and social dominance orientation. Individuals (n = 51) read a brief vignette describing an instance of subtle racism and then wrote a description explaining what they believed was happening in the situation. Individuals higher in prejudice and social dominance orientation wrote longer situational explanations. Individuals who wrote longer situational explanations were less likely to perceive the situation as racist and more likely to attribute that situation to a chance happening. Finally, longer explanations also contained more situational attributions unrelated to race. As the number of attributions unrelated to race increased, the perception of racism decreased. The present results suggest that longer explanations helped individuals explain away subtle racism.
Geneva College1, University of Kent2, university of lille3, Bielefeld University4, Omsk State University5, University of Strathclyde6, Hungarian Academy of Sciences7, Brock University8, Başkent University9, University of Salamanca10, University College Dublin11, University of Bern12, VU University Amsterdam13, University of Bergen14, University of Exeter15
TL;DR: This paper examined valence judgments made by citizens from 17 European nations who were fluent in English and found that ratings made by the European judges were consistent with those made by American students and internally consistent for raters' own country and for the common target group of the English.
Abstract: Previous work has examined the relative valence (positivity or negativity) of ethnophaulisms (ethnic slurs) targeting European immigrants to the United States. However, this relied on contemporary judgments made by American researchers. The present study examined valence judgments made by citizens from the countries examined in previous work. Citizens of 17 European nations who were fluent in English rated ethnophaulisms targeting their own group as well as ethnophaulisms targeting immigrants from England. American students rated ethnophaulisms for all 17 European nations, providing a comparison from members of the host society. Ratings made by the European judges were (a) consistent with those made by the American students and (b) internally consistent for raters’ own country and for the common target group of the English. Following discussion of relevant methodological issues, the authors examine the theoretical significance of their results.
TL;DR: This paper found that when actual differences were small, language-expressible comparisons biased body-size judgments away from the sizes with which they were compared even though the distribution of contextual body sizes was held constant.
Abstract: This article proposes and tests a comparison-induced distortion theory account of body-size judgments wherein language-expressible body-size comparisons (e.g., “Jane is fatter than Kimberly” or “Kimberly is thinner than Jane”) bias judgments of body sizes. Study 1 found that when actual differences were small, language-expressible comparisons biased body-size judgments away from the sizes with which they were compared even though the distribution of contextual body sizes was held constant. Study 2 found that when actual differences were large language-expressible comparisons biased judgments toward the sizes with which they were compared so that an extremely thin woman was judged larger if she was compared with someone who was much larger than her than if she was compared with someone who was only slightly larger than her. These results demonstrate that research on body-size judgments cannot ignore the effects of language-expressible comparisons.
TL;DR: In this paper, the interpretation of ambiguous request/disagreement statements such as "I am afraid I do not follow you" in the light of utilitarian and face-management approaches is explored.
Abstract: Ambiguous statements are quite frequent in everyday life and are therefore the subject of numerous theoretical and empirical investigations. This article explores the interpretation of ambiguous request/disagreement statements such as “I am afraid I do not follow you” in the light of utilitarian and face-management approaches. It offers a combined test of some key predictions of these two approaches on an original kind of ambiguity between two contrasting indirect interpretations. The results support the utilitarian approach, offer new perspectives on the facework approach, and suggest that this combined approach can be generalized to a large range of ambiguous statements.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide an opportunity to illustrate how the domain of sport, language, and culture can become a burgeoning site for future intellectual discussion, and they extend this discussion by offering frameworks that suggestively characterize how these articles collectively speak to issues of sport and culture and provide a template for the future development of transdisciplinary theory and research.
Abstract: The articles in this special issue provide an opportunity to illustrate how the domain of “sport, language, and culture” can become a burgeoning site for future intellectual discussion. We extend this discussion by offering frameworks that (a) suggestively characterize how these articles collectively speak to issues of sport, language, and culture and (b) provide a template for the future development of transdisciplinary theory and research. The special issue provides a unique opportunity to appropriately illustrate how diversity in intellectual perspective and disciplinary approach is necessary for productively creating a unified domain of scholarly interest.