Using abstract language signals power
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6205018 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cheryl J Wakslak (0000-0002-9748-1896, University of Southern California), Pamela K Smith (0000-0002-0211-4728, University of San Diego), Albert Han (University of Southern California) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 107 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 41-55 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/a0036626 |
| PMID | 24956313 |
| OpenAlex | W2064473528 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 41 |
Power can be gained through appearances: People who exhibit behavioral signals of power are often treated in a way that allows them to actually achieve such power (Ridgeway, Berger, & Smith, 1985; Smith & Galinsky, 2010). In the current article, we examine power signals within interpersonal communication, exploring whether use of concrete versus abstract language is seen as a signal of power. Because power activates abstraction (e.g., Smith & Trope, 2006), perceivers may expect higher power individuals to speak more abstractly and therefore will infer that speakers who use more abstract language have a higher degree of power. Across a variety of contexts and conversational subjects in 7 experiments, participants perceived respondents as more powerful when they used more abstract language (vs. more concrete language). Abstract language use appears to affect perceived power because it seems to reflect both a willingness to judge and a general style of abstract thinking
Abstraction · Affect (linguistics) · Cognitive psychology · Epistemology · Interpersonal communication · Interpersonal relationship · Linguistics · Power (physics) · Social power · Style (visual arts) · Trope (literature) · Variety (cybernetics) · Communication · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology
Construal Level Theory in Organizational Research
Gender differences in communicative abstraction
“While You Still Think, I Already Type”
The Wise Mind Balances the Abstract and the Concrete
Regulatory Scope and Its Mental and Social Supports
Power and persuasion
Reexamining the Relationship Between Gender and Abstraction
Developing a General Construal Questionnaire
Nice to meet you.(!) Gendered norms in punctuation usage
Power Increases Perceptions of Others’ Choices, Leading People to Blame Others More
Measuring Abstract Mind-Sets Through Syntax
All words have consequences
Subtle Linguistic Cues Affecting Gender In(Equality)
Pay, Power, and Health
Abstract language signals power, but also lack of action orientation
Dominant groups support digressive victimhood claims to counter accusations of discrimination
Estimating and testing mediation and moderation in within-subject designs.
Dominance and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in human voice pitch
Nonnaïveté among Amazon Mechanical Turk workers
When the Boss Feels Inadequate
The Social Distance Theory of Power
Linguistic Intergroup Bias
Construal-level theory of psychological distance.
Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models
False-Positive Psychology
Health inequalities among British civil servants
Power reduces the press of the situation
Lowering the Pitch of Your Voice Makes You Feel More Powerful and Think More Abstractly
Power and Goal Pursuit
What do people think they're doing? Action identification and human behavior
The effect of temporal distance on level of mental construal
Power Can Bias Impression Processes
Data Collection in a Flat World
Effects of power on emotion and expression during a controversial group discussion
By their words ye shall know them
The effect of linguistic abstraction on interpersonal distance
Relationship orientation as a moderator of the effects of social power
Effects of communication goals and expectancies on language abstraction
Seeing power in action
Abstract thinking increases one’s sense of power
Fear and loving in social hierarchy
When what you say about others says something about you
The cognitive functions of linguistic categories in describing persons
You focus on the forest when you're in charge of the trees
Feminized management and backlash toward agentic women
Construal levels and self-control
The experience of power
From Power to Action
Language use in intergroup contexts
Could You Mind Your Language
Nonverbal Cues and Status
Types of Power and Status
| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2014 - 2026 (13) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 14 |