Communal Language Research Articles

Women governors in the United States use more communal language than male governors in their State of the State addresses and tweets and achieve greater policy success

This study draws on framing theory to argue that the language used by women politicians may make them more effective in achieving their goals. Large numbers of voters around the world perceive men to be more effective political leaders than women. However, this study of the communications of women and male governors in the United States finds that the opposite is true and that women governors emphasize cooperation and compromise much more when communicating, which could be a factor in their greater efficacy. An analysis of 1,088 policy proposals made by governors in their State of the State addresses finds that women enacted their proposals into law at 1.2 times the rate of their male counterparts. An analysis also finds that, between March 2020 and February 2021, states with women governors had significantly fewer excess deaths due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and significantly lower unemployment rates than states with male governors. Analyses of speeches and tweets by governors find that women governors use significantly more communal, cooperative language than their male counterparts, and these frames might catalyze more communal behavior by partners and constituents and thereby help explain their greater efficacy.

How gendered language emerges in applicant materials and leadership descriptions in the hospitality industry: A text analysis study

The hospitality industry faces a gender gap in leadership. Further research is needed to explore if gender stereotypes emerge naturally in applicant materials, like resumes and cover letters. This paper examines the use of agentic and communal language in men and women's self-descriptions in applicant materials, as well as differences in agentic and communal language in descriptions of successful leaders in the industry. Across Studies 1–3, women used more communal language than men in self-descriptions in applicant materials, though differences in agentic language did not emerge. Study 4 found that agentic characteristics were strongly associated with leadership in respondent descriptions of successful leaders in the industry. These findings suggest that gender stereotypes in selection contexts can be attributed to women using more communal language in applicant materials and highlight the need to assess potentially biased selection processes in the hospitality industry.

What's in a Name? Experimental Evidence of Gender Bias in Recommendation Letters Generated by ChatGPT.

Artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT (OpenAI) have garnered excitement about their potential for delegating writing tasks ordinarily performed by humans. Many of these tasks (eg, writing recommendation letters) have social and professional ramifications, making the potential social biases in ChatGPT's underlying language model a serious concern. Three preregistered studies used the text analysis program Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count to investigate gender bias in recommendation letters written by ChatGPT in human-use sessions (N=1400 total letters). We conducted analyses using 22 existing Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count dictionaries, as well as 6 newly created dictionaries based on systematic reviews of gender bias in recommendation letters, to compare recommendation letters generated for the 200 most historically popular "male" and "female" names in the United States. Study 1 used 3 different letter-writing prompts intended to accentuate professional accomplishments associated with male stereotypes, female stereotypes, or neither. Study 2 examined whether lengthening each of the 3 prompts while holding the between-prompt word count constant modified the extent of bias. Study 3 examined the variability within letters generated for the same name and prompts. We hypothesized that when prompted with gender-stereotyped professional accomplishments, ChatGPT would evidence gender-based language differences replicating those found in systematic reviews of human-written recommendation letters (eg, more affiliative, social, and communal language for female names; more agentic and skill-based language for male names). Significant differences in language between letters generated for female versus male names were observed across all prompts, including the prompt hypothesized to be neutral, and across nearly all language categories tested. Historically female names received significantly more social referents (5/6, 83% of prompts), communal or doubt-raising language (4/6, 67% of prompts), personal pronouns (4/6, 67% of prompts), and clout language (5/6, 83% of prompts). Contradicting the study hypotheses, some gender differences (eg, achievement language and agentic language) were significant in both the hypothesized and nonhypothesized directions, depending on the prompt. Heteroscedasticity between male and female names was observed in multiple linguistic categories, with greater variance for historically female names than for historically male names. ChatGPT reproduces many gender-based language biases that have been reliably identified in investigations of human-written reference letters, although these differences vary across prompts and language categories. Caution should be taken when using ChatGPT for tasks that have social consequences, such as reference letter writing. The methods developed in this study may be useful for ongoing bias testing among progressive generations of chatbots across a range of real-world scenarios. OSF Registries osf.io/ztv96; https://osf.io/ztv96.

Dressing up the Self: Feminism and the Anomalous Art of Zanele Muholi and Cindy Sherman

For Lauren Berlant (1998), intimacy begins with shared narratives or narratives about something shared. In other words, we desire our story as humans to be set within ‘zones of familiarity and comfort’ (Berlant, 1998: 281). How do we know we have achieved familiarity and comfort? Berlant says, that we know it is enough to intimate or gesture, to communicate with brevity because of a communal language (like the intimacy of a shared joke). But, says Berlant (1998: 281), ‘the inwardness of the intimate is met by a corresponding publicness’. This ‘public’ side is related to what she terms the ‘institutions of intimacy’ that we create in the hope that these will give us ‘a life’ (by which she presumably means a life of intimacy). Might Berlant consider Art as an institution of intimacy, a means of creating a shared language by which we can enter into zones of familiarity and comfort but also by which we can point out the flaws in each other’s thinking and laugh together at the ways in which we have failed at intimacy? Berlant describes a tension between desire and ‘therapy’ (or what one might think of as a response to immorality) and says this tension governs our ‘modern, mass-mediated sense of intimacy’. The article explores whether one might think of feminism in the photographic self-portraits of Cindy Sherman and Zanele Muholi as a form of ‘therapy’, a means of correcting the violence we commit both knowingly and, as is often the case, out of a kind of willing ignorance.

Language Patterns in Letters of Recommendation for Residency Applicants in Otolaryngology.

Assess for gender and race patterns in agentic and communal language used in letters of recommendation for Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (OHNS) residency applicants. Retrospective content analysis. Applications from OHNS applications at a single training institution for the 2019 and 2020 match cycles. A total of 2283 letters of recommendation for 611 OHNS applicants were analyzed. Applicant and letter writer gender, applicant race and ethnicity, and applicant characteristics including United States Medical Licensing Examination® Step 1 score, research productivity, and medical school rank were extracted. Agentic and communal word use from the letters of recommendation was compared across applicant and writer characteristics using multilevel negative binomial regression modeling. Letter writers use a greater rate of agentic terms when describing applicants who self-identify as Asian (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.16, p < .01) or "Other/not reported" (IRR = 1.23, p < .01) as compared to white applicants. Further, standardized letters of evaluation had significantly more communal language and less agentic language. Although there was an increase in communal language in letters for female applicants compared to male applicants, these gender differences disappeared in the multivariate model. Multivariate analysis demonstrated no significant gender-based patterns in the communal or agentic language in letters of recommendation for OHNS residency applicants. However, letters for applicants identifying as Asian or "other/not reported" had more frequent use of agentic terms. Future studies should investigate other components of residency applications to assess how gender and race bias might unfairly influence an applicant's chances at a given program.

It's in the Syllabus: The Relationship Between Syllabi Word Use and Teaching Evaluations

The authors analyzed 1,472 course syllabi written by 611 professors to determine whether communion-related and/or agency-related word use in professors’ syllabi predicted those same professors’ end-of-semester teaching evaluations. Linguistic inquiry and word count (LIWC) analyses revealed that professors who used more communal language—including third person plural pronouns (e.g., we), social words (e.g., discussion), and positive emotion words (e.g., please)—received significantly higher teaching evaluations, but agentic language did not significantly predict evaluation scores.

Creating a shared mental model of performance: Coaches’ perspectives of key position-specific soccer actions

Important decisions surrounding talent identification (TID), talent development (TD) and (de)selection within elite youth soccer are often grounded in the subjective opinions of coaches. These opinions often stem from coaches’ observations of player performance, which have been shown to be susceptible to several biases. Additionally, previous research has failed to establish specific criteria on which such opinions are based, aside from a coach's own intuition and practical experience. This study aimed to create a communal language and aligned criteria for the specific purpose of evaluating players’ performances. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with nine experienced coaches (13.6 ± 10.8 years) from a professional UK soccer academy to identify coaches’ perceptions of key position-specific soccer actions, performed during differing moments of the game, for evaluating individual match performance. Thematic analysis of the interview data permitted the extraction of several themes , posited to encompass the position-specific soccer actions highlighted by the coaches. Themes for outfield positions included attacking skills; defending skills; movements to receive, create or exploit space; receiving and releasing skills; support play; end product; press, recover to the ball, man or space; and tactical understanding. Goalkeeper themes included tactical understanding, positioning relative to the ball, danger, teammates and opponents, play forward, support play, choice of action and range of distribution. This study highlights an applied approach of creating a shared mental model for appraising player performances, which can facilitate discussion and knowledge exchange between coaches and practitioners, with the intention of improving decision-making around TID, TD and (de)selection decisions.

Exploring linguistic markers, threat appraisals, and genetic variation during mixed‐sex couples' conflict conversations

AbstractHow couples communicate during conflict interactions can have important implications for their relational well‐being. The theory of resilience and relational load provides a valuable lens for exploring the associations among couples' language use during conflict conversations and the extent to which such conversations are perceived as threatening to one's relationship, as well as whether genetic markers moderate such associations. Forty‐seven mixed‐sex couples had a conversation about a topic causing conflict in their relationship and provided saliva samples that were tested for their genotype (GG, AA, or AG) for oxytocin receptor gene rs53576. The results revealed that neither the use of communal language nor positive emotion words were associated with perceiving the conversation as less threatening to their relationship. Genetic variation did not moderate the associations with either positive emotion word use or communal language. However, a three‐way interaction between sex, OXTR, and positive emotion word use emerged in the post hoc analyses, indicating that positive emotion word use was negatively associated with threat appraisals for women with a GG genotype, and positively associated with threat appraisals for men with a GG genotype. Implications for mixed‐sex couples' communication and research on language use during conflict conversations are discussed.

Letters of recommendation for gynecologic oncology fellowship differ by gender and race

IntroductionLetters of recommendation (LOR) play a significant role in applicant selection for gynecologic oncology (GO) fellowship. LORs can be agentic, associated with competence, independence and strength, or communal, associated with being accommodating, cooperative and empathetic. Agentic LORs have been shown to reflect favorably on applicants, making them more likely to be selected for interview. The primary goal of this study was to determine linguistic differences in LORs for applicants applying to GO fellowship based on applicant gender and race. MethodsAll applications to a single academic institution from the years 2018–2020 were analyzed. LORs were extracted from all applicants who self-reported their gender and race/ethnicity. Analysis was performed using Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) in terms of agentic and communal language. All analysis was done using SAS version 9.4. ResultsFrom 2018 to 2020, there were 239 GO fellowship applications to a single academic institution. There were 186 (78.1%) applicants who identified as female and 52 (21.8%) who identified as male. Female applicants were more likely to have more research (p = 0.047) and volunteer activities (p = 0.02) than male applicants. There were no differences between female and male applicants in terms of age, geographic location of residency, USMLE scores, AOA status, number of publications or attending a Doximitiy-rated top 20 residency program. There were 139 (60.7%) applicants who identified as White, 46 (20.1%) as Asian, 16 (7.0%) as Black, 19 (8.3%) as Latinx and 9 (3.9%) as other. On multivariable analysis, LORs written for male applicants had higher agentic scores compared to females (p < 0.05), and LORs of female applicants received higher communal scores (p < 0.05). LORs for applicants who identified as Black or Latinx were found to have lower agentic scores compared to individuals who identified as White(p < 0.05 for both). ConclusionThere were demonstrated linguistic differences in LOR for GO fellowship based on applicant gender and race/ethnicity. LORs written for white, male applicants were more likely to have higher agentic scores compared to minority, female applicants. LORs written for female applicants were more likely to have higher communal scores. As LORs have been shown to be instrumental in GO fellowship interview selection and linguistic differences exist based on applicant gender and race/ethnicity, this study highlights the need for a more objective GO fellowship application process. DisclosuresPortion of this paper was presented at the Society for Gynecologic Oncology as part of a focus plenary.

Gender and Language in Letters of Recommendation for Obstetrics and Gynecology Fellowship Applications

To delineate the use of gender-biased language in letters of recommendation for Obstetrics and Gynecology fellowships and its impact on applicants. Fellowship letters of recommendation from 4 Obstetrics and Gynecology specialties at a single institution in 2020 were included. frequency of agentic and communal language in letters of recommendation using Linguistics Inquiry Word Count software. letter of recommendation length and language utilization by author gender and applicant success measured by interviews and match success. Marginal models were fit to determine if language varied by applicant and writer gender and subspecialty. Modified Poisson regression models were used to determine associations between language and interview receipt. Single academic institution (Duke University); 2020 OB/GYN fellowship application cycle. A total of 1216 letters of recommendation submitted by 326 unique applicants for OB/GYN subspecialty fellowships at our institution. Rates of gender-biased language were low (Agentic:1.3%; communal: 0.8%). Agentic term use did not vary by applicant or author gender (p = 0.78 and 0.16) Male authors utilized 19% fewer communal terms than females (p < 0.001). Each 0.25% increase in agentic language was associated with an 18% reduction in the probability of interview invitation at our institution (p = 0.004). Percentage of agentic or communal language was not associated with successful matching into any subspecialty. No differences in agentic vs communal language based on applicant gender were found in this cohort, though female letter writers wrote longer letters with more communal terms. Increasing agentic terms negatively impacted interview invitation but did not affect successful matching.

A social-cognitive research on metaphor and metonymy: Taking age appellations in Chinese as an example

The process from individual language to communal language, from individual experience to communal embodiment, and from individual cognition to collective cognition is based on human embodiment and social interactions. Metaphor and metonymy are two basic cognitive approaches to the world. Thus, human cognition is metaphorical and metonymic in essence, and metaphonymy is embodied and social in nature. In the perspective of social embodied cognition, this paper, taking social metaphonymy as a theoretical foundation and the Chinese age appellations as the corpus, demonstrates that Chinese age appellation has eight metaphonymic categories, namely, physiology, gender, wisdom, accessories, raising, behavior, animal and plant, and number. The paper, by expounding the embodiment and metaphonymy, aims to reveal metaphonymic cognitive mechanism of Chinese age appellations.

Linguistic Differences by Gender in Letters of Recommendation for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship Applicants From 2010 to 2020.

Linguistic differences suggestive of gender bias have been detected in letters of recommendation (LOR) for female and male residency and fellowship program applicants within multiple medical specialties. The aim of the study was to determine whether linguistic differences exist in LOR for female and male physicians applying to female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery (FPMRS) fellowship. A retrospective analysis of FPMRS fellowship applications submitted to a university-affiliated academic center from 2010 to 2020 was performed. Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, a text analysis software, was used to characterize the linguistic content of letters. Multivariable analysis was used to compare letter characteristics with applicant and letter writer demographics. Of 306 applications reviewed, 221 (72.2%) applicants were female and 85 (27.8%) were male. Of the 1,062 letters analyzed, 457 (43.0%) were written by female letter writers, 586 (55.2%) by males, and 19 (1.8%) were a combination. Multivariable analysis controlling for race, Step 1 score, and letter writer gender demonstrated more frequent use of affiliation words for female applicants compared with males (3.1% ± 0.3 vs. 2.9% ± 0.3, P = 0.02). No additional differences were noted in average letter length or all other linguistic categories analyzed. Multiple differences were detected between writing styles of female and male letter writers, including average letter length, use of multiple word categories, and use of communal (relationship-oriented) language. Data were stratified into 2-year periods and no longitudinal trends in linguistic differences were detected. No linguistic differences, suggestive of gender bias, were found between female and male applicants to FPMRS fellowship.

Impact of Surgeon Gender and Seniority in use of Agentic and Communal Language in Letters of Recommendation for Surgery Residency Applicants

Differential use of communal (kindness, cooperation, morality) and agentic terms (competence, assertiveness, decisiveness) may reveal bias and has been extensively reported in letters of recommendation (LoR) for residency but letter writer factors have not been thoroughly studied. We estimate the association between use of agentic and communal language with letter writer and applicant characteristics. Retrospective review of LoR comparing 2 letters written for the same applicant. Applicant demographics and USMLE scores as well as letter writer demographics and academic/departmental rank were compared. Multilevel regression controlling for clustering of letters within applicant was performed. Single academic surgery residency program in a tertiary center. US medical students applying for categorical surgery residency. Applications of 667 US medical students (age 27.1, interquartile range [IQR] 26.2-28.6; female 340, 51%, white 337, 54.2%) were evaluated. Most commonly, letters writers were males (n = 1031, 77.3%), Full Professors (n = 660, 49.48%) and Department Chairs or Division Chiefs (n = 629, 47.151%). Overall, median bias score was 14.29 (interquartile range -4 to 33.33), indicating predominance of agentic terms. Applicant female gender (coef 3.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.33-6.96) and higher Step 1 USMLE scores (coef 0.12, 95% CI 0.0026-0.24) were associated with increased use of agentic terms. For letter writer characteristics, female (coef -4.23, 95% CI -8.14 to -0.32) and fewer years in practice (coef -0.32, 95% CI -0.48 to -0.16) were independent predictors of increased use of communal traits. Comparing 2 LoR written for the same applicant, male and more senior surgeons use more agentic language in their LoR as compared to female and younger surgeons. Increased use of communal language is expected as the pool of letter writers is diversified and reflects essential characteristics of contemporary surgeons.

Translation, Validation, and Psychometric Evaluation of the Diabetes Quality-of-Life Brief Clinical Inventory: The Urdu Version.

PurposeThe study is aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Urdu version of the Diabetes Quality-of-Life Brief Clinical Inventory.MethodsWe adopted the forward–backward procedure to translate the Diabetes Quality-of-Life Brief Clinical Inventory (DQoL-BCI) into the Urdu language (lingua franca of Pakistan). The intraclass correlation (ICC) confirmed the consistency of retaining the items, and Cronbach’s alpha established the test–re-test reliability. The confirmatory factor analysis (principal axis factoring extraction and oblique rotation with Kaiser normalization) validated the DQoL-BCI in Urdu.ResultsA two-time point with an interval of 2 weeks was used, and the Urdu version of DQoL-BCI was piloted accordingly. The 15-item translated version (DQoL-BCI-U) exhibited a satisfactory Cronbach’s value of 0.866 (test) at week 1 and 0.850 at week 3 (re-test). Using the one-way random model with single measurements, the ICC for all 15 items exhibited coefficient values of >0.80. The Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure of sampling adequacy and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity revealed relationships of the data and suitability of CFA (0.899, p<0.05). Seven factors explaining the total variance of 69% were extracted. With acceptable communalities, all 15 items of DQoL-BCI-U were retained.ConclusionThe study concludes that the translated version of DQoL-BCI-U is a valid instrument in regions, where Urdu is a communal language of communication and can examine quality-of-life issues during the typical patient–provider encounter.

A simulation on coevolution between language and multiple cognitive abilities

AbstractWe propose a coevolution scenario between language and two cognitive abilities, namely shared intentionality and lexical memory, under a conceptual framework that integrates biological evolution of language learners and cultural evolution of communal language among language users. Piggybacking on a well-attested agent-based model on the origin of simple lexicon and constituent word order out of holistic utterances, we demonstrate: (1) once adopted by early hominins to handle preliminary linguistic materials, along with the origin of an evolving communal language having a high mutual understandability among language users, the initially low levels of the two cognitive abilities are boosted and get ratcheted at sufficiently high levels in language users for proficient language learning and use; (2) the socio-cultural environment is indispensable for the coevolution, and natural selection (selecting highly understandable adults to produce offspring), not cultural selection (choosing highly understandable adults to teach offspring), drives the coevolution. This work modifies existing models and theories of coevolution between language and human cognition and clarifies theoretical controversies regarding the roles of natural and cultural selections on language evolution.

Proverbs in Yorùbá Contemporary Songs

The Proverb is the wisdom of the wise; a terse statement of few words. Proverbs are allegorical as the expressed statement is meant to have by analogy or by extended reference, a general or specific connotation. This study serves as a discursive strategy in the knowledge of proverbial lore and language development as exemplified in the works of the two Yorùbá Contemporary song artists to be considered. This study attempts to explain how proverb usage in the hands of these two song artists serves as critical trajectories as it refracts and reforms the debased social constrictions that have engulfed society. Its usage by these song artists is wrapped up in the communal language to puncture the social constrictions and to x-ray the lived experiences of people in the society. This study reveals that the use of proverbs as indigenous tattoos has elevated both the language of the song artists to the status of living art of popular communication and their personalities to that of a mystic ‘massieur’ as there is the need to localize the global issues and globalized the local ones. Doing so would enhance and ensure continuity of the salient aspects of our culture especially the language, which now seems to have lost its potency and rhythm via the social constrictions.

From a Lingua Franca to a Communal Language: The Islamicization of Urdu in British India

The Urdu language, alternatively known as Hindustani, enjoyed the status of a lingua franca in the Indian subcontinent due to the fact that it was a common medium of expression used by Indians regardless of their faith. However, around the mid-nineteenth century, mutations on the Indian scene were to pose a challenge to this status which rendered this language an exclusively Islamic one. Therefore, this paper seeks to highlight the process of this transition—that is, from a common language used by all to a communal one—as well as the motivating forces behind such a change which, ultimately, led to the fragmentation of the country by the mid-twentieth century

Decoding bias: Gendered language in finance internship job postings

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the language content of job postings as a potential explanation for the gender imbalance in the finance industry. We conduct two interlinked studies of internship job postings by finance companies that assess the use and effects of agentic (e.g., ambitious) versus communal (e.g., caring) language. We find high levels of agentic language within finance job postings, and our results reveal that women applicants are more likely to perceive a higher level of fit with the position and exhibit an interest in applying to internship postings that are high in communal language and low in agentic language suggesting a current mismatch between our findings and current practice. We discuss the theoretical implications associated with the wording of internship job postings as well as implications for finance recruiters looking to increase the gender diversity of their workforce.

Race and Gender Bias in Internal Medicine Program Director Letters of Recommendation.

While program director (PD) letters of recommendation (LOR) are subject to bias, especially against those underrepresented in medicine, these letters are one of the most important factors in fellowship selection. Bias manifests in LOR in a number of ways, including biased use of agentic and communal terms, doubt raising language, and description of career trajectory. To reduce bias, specialty organizations have recommended standardized PD LOR. This study examined PD LOR for applicants to a cardiology fellowship program to determine the mechanism of how bias is expressed and whether the 2017 Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) guidelines reduce bias. Fifty-six LOR from applicants selected to interview at a cardiology fellowship during the 2019 and 2020 application cycles were selected using convenience sampling. LOR for underrepresented (Black, Latinx, women) and non-underrepresented applicants were analyzed using directed qualitative content analysis. Two coders used an iteratively refined codebook to code the transcripts. Data were analyzed using outputs from these codes, analytical memos were maintained, and themes summarized. With AAIM guidelines, there appeared to be reduced use of communal language for underrepresented applicants, which may represent less bias. However, in both LOR adherent and not adherent to the guidelines, underrepresented applicants were still more likely to be described using communal language, doubt raising language, and career trajectory bias. PDs used language in a biased way to describe underrepresented applicants in LOR. The AAIM guidelines reduced but did not eliminate this bias. We provide recommendations to PDs and the AAIM on how to continue to work to reduce this bias.

A Communal Language for Decision Making in Team Invasion Sports

Invasion team sports coaches are faced with the problem of developing players who, in any given situation, can make decisions that lead to successful outcomes. Research into human decision making has established three widely accepted perspectives, which sports coaching has used to understand player decision making and inform practice:information processing, ecological psychology, andnaturalistic decision making. As a result, coaches are challenged with perspective-specific terminology and having to draw connections between similar findings that are explained in quite different ways. This conceptual paper presents a plainer account of player decision making by proposing a communal language within a conceptual framework for decision making in invasion team sports. It is hoped that the proposed language and framework will, together, facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers and coaches for the betterment of player development.