Language use in intergroup contexts: The linguistic intergroup bias.

Abstract Literature points towards the role of context in irony interpretation and the existence of gender differences in language use. We decided to examine the influence of interlocutors’ gender stereotypes on interpreting and reacting to ironic criticism in conversation. To this end, we designed two experiments gathering participants’ responses to the same ironic utterances voiced both by women and by men in control and gender stereotype activation conditions. Results of the first experiment showed that women tended to use irony significantly more often when responding to a man than to another woman. The second, ongoing experiment will additionally examine participants’ response times and total time of utterance in respect to their addressee’s gender. The results are discussed with regard to the social comparison theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) and the linguistic intergroup bias theory (Wigboldus & Douglas, 2007).

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Expressing Prejudice through the Linguistic Intergroup Bias: Second Language Confidence and Identity among Minority Group Members

Diversité urbaine ◽

10.7202/019564ar ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 109-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jessica L. Shulman ◽

Richard Clément1

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Communication Theory ◽

Minority Group ◽

Group Identification ◽

Verbal Communication ◽

Intergroup Bias ◽

Intergroup Communication ◽

Group Members ◽

Linguistic Intergroup Bias

Abstract The role of verbal communication in the transmission of prejudice has received much theoretical attention (Hecht, 1998; Le Couteur & Augoustinos, 2001), including the features of the linguistic intergroup bias (Maass, Salvi, Arcuri, & Semin, 1989), yet few studies have examined the acquisition of an out-group language as a factor in mitigating prejudicial speech. The conditions under which minority Canadian Francophones use linguistic bias when communicating about the in- and out-group (i.e., Canadian Anglophones) were investigated. Data was collected from 110 Francophone students. Predictions were confirmed but only when out-group identification was considered. Further, out-group identification and second language confidence were both related to a decrease in out-group derogation; however, the same factors appear to promote linguistically biased speech toward the in-group. Results are discussed within current intergroup communication theory.

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Effects of Linguistic Abstractness in the Mass Media

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000014 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 99-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Daniel Geschke ◽

Kai Sassenberg ◽

Georg Ruhrmann ◽

Denise Sommer

Keyword(s):

Mass Media ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Intergroup Bias ◽

Positive Behavior ◽

Negative Behavior ◽

News Reports ◽

Group Members ◽

Linguistic Intergroup Bias ◽

The Mass Media

Media coverage contributes to the perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudice. So far, research has focused on biased content rather than style in reporting about minorities. One such stylistic dimension is the so-called linguistic intergroup bias: The tendency to describe positive behavior of members of one’s own group and negative behavior of other groups’ members in a more abstract way (compared to the same behavior of the respective other group). Recipients of communication biased in this way judge the described individuals in line with abstract descriptions (i.e., own-group members more positively than members of other groups). The current study demonstrates that linguistically biased news reports about minorities lead to higher levels of prejudice. Hence, media coverage does not only affect attitudes about minorities by what is reported, but also by how it is presented.

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The Role of the Linguistic Intergroup Bias in Expectancy Maintenance

Social Cognition ◽

10.1521/soco.1996.14.2.141 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 141-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Andrew Karpinski ◽

William Von Hippel

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Bias ◽

Linguistic Intergroup Bias

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