Words Matter
"Global warming" or "climate change"? Whether the planet is warming depends on question wording
Jonathon Schuldt, Sara Konrath & Norbert Schwarz
Public Opinion Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
In public discourse and survey research, global climate change is sometimes referred to as "global warming" and sometimes as "climate change." An analysis of web sites of conservative and liberal think tanks suggests that conservatives prefer to use the term "global warming" whereas liberals prefer "climate change." A question wording experiment (N = 2267) illustrates the power of these frames: Republicans were less likely to endorse that the phenomenon is real when it was referred to as "global warming" (44.0%) rather than "climate change" (60.2%), whereas Democrats were unaffected by question wording (86.9% vs. 86.4%). As a result, the partisan divide on the issue dropped from 42.9 percentage points under a "global warming" frame to 26.2 percentage points under a "climate change" frame. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed.
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Metaphors We Think With: The Role of Metaphor in Reasoning
Paul Thibodeau & Lera Boroditsky
PLoS ONE, February 2011, e16782
Abstract:
The way we talk about complex and abstract ideas is suffused with metaphor. In five experiments, we explore how these metaphors influence the way that we reason about complex issues and forage for further information about them. We find that even the subtlest instantiation of a metaphor (via a single word) can have a powerful influence over how people attempt to solve social problems like crime and how they gather information to make "well-informed" decisions. Interestingly, we find that the influence of the metaphorical framing effect is covert: people do not recognize metaphors as influential in their decisions; instead they point to more "substantive" (often numerical) information as the motivation for their problem-solving decision. Metaphors in language appear to instantiate frame-consistent knowledge structures and invite structurally consistent inferences. Far from being mere rhetorical flourishes, metaphors have profound influences on how we conceptualize and act with respect to important societal issues. We find that exposure to even a single metaphor can induce substantial differences in opinion about how to solve social problems: differences that are larger, for example, than pre-existing differences in opinion between Democrats and Republicans.
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The Signature Effect: Signing Influences Consumption-Related Behavior by Priming Self-Identity
Keri Kettle & Gerald Haubl
Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Evidence from four studies shows that signing one's name influences consumption-related behavior in a predictable manner. Signing acts as a general self-identity prime that facilitates the activation of the particular aspect of a consumer's self-identity that is afforded by the situation, resulting in behavior congruent with that aspect. Our findings demonstrate that signing causes consumers to become more (less) engaged when shopping in a product domain they (do not) closely identify with (studies 1 and 2), to identify more (less) closely with in(out)-groups (study 3), and to conform more with (diverge more from) in(out)-groups when making consumption choices in preference domains that are relevant to signaling one's identity (study 4). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
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Early words that work: When and how virtual linguistic mimicry facilitates negotiation outcomes
Roderick Swaab, William Maddux & Marwan Sinaceur
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
We hypothesized that in online, virtual formats, negotiators receive better outcomes when mimicking their counterpart's language; furthermore, we predicted that this strategy would be more effective when occurring early in the negotiation rather than at the end, and should also be effective across both independent and interdependent cultures. Results from two experiments supported these hypotheses. Experiment 1 was conducted in Thailand and demonstrated that negotiators who actively mimicked their counterpart's language in the first 10 minutes of the negotiation obtained higher individual gain compared to those mimicking during the last 10 minutes, as well as compared to control participants. Experiment 2 replicated this effect in the United States (with Dutch and American negotiators) and also showed that trust mediated the effect of virtual linguistic mimicry on individual negotiation outcomes. Implications for virtual communication, strategic mimicry, and negotiations are discussed.
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The power of asking: How communication affects selfishness, empathy, and altruism
James Andreoni & Justin Rao
Journal of Public Economics, forthcoming
Abstract:
To understand the "pure" incentives of altruism, economic laboratory research on humans almost always forbids communication between subjects. In reality, however, altruism usually requires interaction between givers and receivers, which clearly must influence choices. Charities, for example, speak of the "power of asking." Indeed, evolutionary theories of altruism are built on human sociality. We experimentally examine communication in which one subject allocates $10 between herself and a receiver, and systematically altered who in the pair could speak. We found that any time the recipient spoke, giving increased - asking is powerful. But when only allocators could speak, choices were significantly more selfish than any other condition. When empathy was heightened by putting allocators "in the receivers shoes," giving appeared as if recipients had been able to ask, even when they were silent. We conclude that communication dramatically influences altruistic behavior, and appears to largely work by heightening empathy.
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Word lengths are optimized for efficient communication
Steven Piantadosi, Harry Tily & Edward Gibson
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, forthcoming
Abstract:
We demonstrate a substantial improvement on one of the most celebrated empirical laws in the study of language, Zipf's 75-y-old theory that word length is primarily determined by frequency of use. In accord with rational theories of communication, we show across 10 languages that average information content is a much better predictor of word length than frequency. This indicates that human lexicons are efficiently structured for communication by taking into account interword statistical dependencies. Lexical systems result from an optimization of communicative pressures, coding meanings efficiently given the complex statistics of natural language use.
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Heidi Brummert Lennings & Wayne Warburton
Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Five decades of research have shown clear links between exposure to violent visual media and subsequent aggression, however there has been little research that directly compares the effects of exposure to violent visual versus auditory media, or which has experimentally tested the effect of violent song lyrics with musical 'tone' held constant. In the current study 194 participants heard music either with or without lyrics, and with or without a violent music video, and were then given the chance to aggress using the hot sauce paradigm. Musical tone was held constant across groups, and a fifth (control) group had no media exposure at all. Experimental groups, on average, were significantly more aggressive than controls. The strongest effect was elicited by exposure to violent lyrics, regardless of whether violent imagery accompanied the music, and regardless of various person-based characteristics. Implications for theories of media violence and models of aggression are discussed.
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Dynamic Public Opinion: Communication Effects over Time
Dennis Chong & James Druckman
American Political Science Review, November 2010, Pages 663-680
Abstract:
We develop an approach to studying public opinion that accounts for how people process competing messages received over the course of a political campaign or policy debate. Instead of focusing on the fixed impact of a message, we emphasize that a message can have variable effects depending on when it is received within a competitive context and how it is evaluated. We test hypotheses about the effect of information processing using data from two experiments that measure changes in public opinion in response to alternative sequences of information. As in past research, we find that competing messages received at the same time neutralize one another. However, when competing messages are separated by days or weeks, most individuals give disproportionate weight to the most recent communication because previous effects decay over time. There are exceptions, though, as people who engage in deliberate processing of information display attitude stability and give disproportionate weight to previous messages. These results show that people typically form significantly different opinions when they receive competing messages over time than when they receive the same messages simultaneously. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for understanding the power of communications in contemporary politics.
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I 5683 You: Dialing Phone Numbers on Cell Phones Activates Key-Concordant Concepts
Sascha Topolinski
Psychological Science, forthcoming
Abstract:
When people perform actions, effects associated with the actions are activated mentally, even if those effects are not apparent. This study tested whether sequences of simulations of virtual action effects can be integrated into a meaning of their own. Cell phones were used to test this hypothesis because pressing a key on a phone is habitually associated with both digits (dialing numbers) and letters (typing text messages). In Experiment 1, dialing digit sequences induced the meaning of words that share the same key sequence (e.g., 5683, LOVE). This occurred even though the letters were not labeled on the keypad, and participants were not aware of the digit-letter correspondences. In Experiment 2, subjects preferred dialing numbers implying positive words (e.g., 37326, DREAM) over dialing numbers implying negative words (e.g., 75463, SLIME). In Experiment 3, subjects preferred companies with phone numbers implying a company-related word (e.g., LOVE for a dating agency, CORPSE for a mortician) compared with companies with phone numbers implying a company-unrelated word.
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Spurious? Name similarity effects (implicit egotism) in marriage, job, and moving decisions
Uri Simonsohn
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Three articles published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology have shown that a disproportionate share of people choose spouses, places to live, and occupations with names similar to their own. These findings, interpreted as evidence of implicit egotism, are included in most modern social psychology textbooks and many university courses. The current article successfully replicates the original findings but shows that they are most likely caused by a combination of cohort, geographic, and ethnic confounds as well as reverse causality.
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The Power of a Label: Mental Illness Diagnoses, Ascribed Humanity, and Social Rejection
Andres Martinez et al.
Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, January 2011, Pages 1-23
Abstract:
Although the stigma of mental illness has been widely documented, the specific processes through which psychiatric labels evoke prejudice and discrimination are not well understood. We examined how ascribing humanity to an individual labeled with mental illness may influence perceptions of dangerousness and motivations for social rejection. Study 1 revealed that a general mental illness label (compared to a general physical illness label) led to reductions in ascribed humanity, which predicted increased perceptions of dangerousness. In Study 2, participants formed impressions about an individual bearing a specific mental illness label (or a specific physical illness label) while normative behavioral information and full remission status were held constant. Under these conditions, the target labeled with mental illness evoked greater ascribed humanity. Further analyses revealed a unique effect for the target bearing the mental illness label: ascribing humanity to the target predicted reductions in perceived dangerousness, which in turn influenced social rejection. A similar mediational path was not found for the target bearing the physical illness label. We discuss the implications of ascribing humanity to people labeled mentally ill for stereotyping and stigma reduction.
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Karen Douglas & Robbie Sutton
British Journal of Psychology, February 2011, Pages 97-107
Abstract:
Previous research has shown that people respond with greater sensitivity to negative stereotypical comments about a group that are made from someone outside the group in question than from someone who belongs to the group. In this paper, we investigated if the same effect occurs in response to comments made about stigmatized groups. Specifically, we examined how people react to comments made about the mentally ill. The conditions under which people accept or reject stereotypes of the mentally ill may shed light on the conditions necessary for effective anti-discrimination campaigns. In the current study, participants responded to positive or negative stereotypes of the mentally ill voiced by either someone who has, or has not, suffered from a mental illness. Participants were more sensitive, agreed less, and evaluated the speaker less favourably when comments came from the out-group rather than the in-group source. The effects were strongest for negative comments, however contrary to previous research participants also responded less favourably to positive comments from the out-group source. These reactions were mediated by the perceived constructiveness of the speaker's motives. Implications for the effectiveness of anti-discrimination campaigns are discussed.
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Julie Rosaz
Economic Inquiry, forthcoming
Abstract:
We study the impact of information manipulation by a principal on the agent's effort. In a context of asymmetric information at the principal's advantage, we test experimentally the principal's willingness to bias (overestimate or underestimate) the information she/he gives to her/his agent on her/his ability in order to motivate her/him to exert more effort. We find that (1) principals do bias information, and (2) agents trust the cheap-talk messages they receive and adjust their effort accordingly. Therefore, biased messages improve both the agent's performance and thus the principal's profit. This, however, does not increase efficiency. We also find that overestimation occurs much more often than underestimation. Making the signal costly in an additional treatment reduces this effect.
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How "Point Blindness" Dilutes the Value of Stock Market Reports
Arthur Lupia et al.
Political Communication, January 2011, Pages 1-18
Abstract:
The stock index "point" is a regular component of financial news reports.
While much attention is paid to daily changes in stock index point totals, few people realize that the value of each stock index point also changes frequently. We call inattention to such variations "point blindness." We describe point blindness' psychological causes and economic consequences. Our empirical inquiries include a content analysis of New York Times articles that demonstrates how news reports fuel point blindness and an experiment that we conducted on over 2,000 Americans. The experiment shows how simple changes in news presentations can significantly affect public perceptions of stock market performance. The directions of these perceptual shifts correspond to a refined understanding of the changing value of stock index points. Hence, small changes to news reports can provide valuable information to audiences.
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How to Make a 29% Increase Look Bigger: The Unit Effect in Option Comparisons
Mario Pandelaere, Barbara Briers & Christophe Lembregts
Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Quantitative information can appear in different units (e.g., 7 year warranty = 84 month warranty). The current paper demonstrates that attribute differences appear larger on scales with a higher number of units; expressing quality information on such an expanded scale makes consumers switch to a higher quality option. Testifying to its practical importance, expressing the energy content of snacks in Kilojoules rather than Kilocalories increases the choice of a healthy snack. The unit effect occurs because consumers focus on the number rather than the type of units in which information is expressed (numerosity effect). Therefore, reminding consumers of alternative units in which information can be expressed eliminates the unit effect. Finally, the unit effect moderates relative thinking: Consumers are more sensitive to relative attribute differences when the attribute is expressed on expanded scales. The relation with anchoring and implications for temporal discounting and loyalty programs are discussed.
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How and When Alphanumeric Brand Names Affect Consumer Preferences
Kunter Gunasti & William Ross
Journal of Marketing Research, December 2010, Pages 1177-1192
Abstract:
This research develops a taxonomy of alphanumeric brand names (ABs) based on the alignment between the brand names and their links to products and attributes. Five empirical studies reveal that ABs have systematic effects on consumers' product choices, moderated by consumers' need for cognition, the availability of product attribute information, and the taxonomic category of the AB. In an identical choice set, the choice share of a product option whose brand name takes a higher versus lower numeric portion (e.g., X-200 versus X-100) increases, and it is preferred more even when it is objectively inferior to other choice alternatives. Consumers with low need for cognition use "the higher, the better" heuristic to select options labeled with ABs and choose brands with higher numeric portions. Consumers with high need for cognition process ABs more systematically and make inferences about attribute values based on brand name-attribute correlations. The effects of ABs on consumer preferences are prevalent for most technical products, even when consumers do not know the product category or meanings of attributes.