Tell it like it is: When politically incorrect language promotes authenticity.

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Communication Studies
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Political language, including political correctness, significantly shapes interpersonal perceptions.
• Political correctness involves using language or behavior to appear sensitive to disadvantaged groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how politically correct versus incorrect language influences perceptions of a communicator's authenticity, warmth, and susceptibility to influence.
• To examine the moderating roles of perceiver's political ideology and sympathy towards targeted groups.

Main Methods:

• A series of studies including a pilot study, six experiments, and three supplemental experiments with a total of 4,956 participants.
• Participants evaluated communicators based on their use of politically correct or incorrect language in various scenarios, including simulated political debates.

Main Results:

• Politically incorrect language enhanced perceived authenticity (less susceptibility to influence) but decreased perceived warmth.
• Effects were moderated by perceiver ideology; conservatives viewed politically incorrect speakers as more authentic, while liberals saw them as colder.
• Sympathy towards the targeted group could reverse these effects, and political incorrectness was linked to appearing less strategic.

Conclusions:

• Politically incorrect language can enhance perceived authenticity by making communicators seem less strategic and less influenced by external factors.
• The impact of political incorrectness on perceptions is complex, depending on the audience's political leanings and their feelings toward the group being discussed.
• In political debates, politically correct language may lead to perceptions of being more persuadable.