Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025
09:27
Using Eye Movements Recorded in the Visual World Paradigm to Explore the Online Processing of Spoken Language
Published on: October 13, 2018
10.1K
Microaggressions in Context: Linguistic and Pragmatic Perspectives
1Department of Psychological Science, Ball State University.
Summary
Microaggressions are indirect speech acts requiring inferential processing by the hearer. Analyzing linguistic-pragmatic features aids in identifying and understanding these subtle, aggressive communication acts.
Area of Science:
- Linguistics
- Sociolinguistics
- Pragmatics
Background:
- The construct of microaggressions is examined.
- A linguistic-pragmatic framework is proposed for analysis.
- Microaggressions are conceptualized as nonconventional indirect speech acts.
Approach:
- Focuses on the inferential processing required by the hearer.
- Considers the role of context, prior discourse, and interactant roles/statuses.
- Highlights the speaker's ability to deny aggressive intent due to indirectness.
Key Points:
- Microaggressions function as indirect speech acts with underlying aggressive meanings.
- Recognition necessitates inferential processing, considering context and social dynamics.
- The indirect nature allows plausible deniability, particularly for high-power speakers.
Conclusions:
- A linguistic-pragmatic lens offers a principled framework for defining microaggressions.
- This approach aids in identifying contextual features crucial for recognition.
- Understanding the pragmatic mechanisms enhances the analysis of microaggression dynamics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
90.6K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
90.6K
01:47Aggression
28.0K
Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for...
28.0K
02:16Stereotype Content Model
14.8K
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
14.8K
01:27Language and Cognition
411
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
411
01:54Attitudes
28.7K
Attitude is our evaluation of a person, an idea, or an object. We have attitudes for many things ranging from products that we might pick up in the supermarket to people around the world to political policies. Typically, attitudes are favorable or unfavorable: positive or negative (Eagly & Chaiken, 1993). And, they have three components: an affective component (feelings), a behavioral component (the effect of the attitude on behavior), and a cognitive component (belief and knowledge;...
28.7K
01:21Barriers to Effective Communication II
3.7K
The barriers to effective communication also include cultural barriers, semantic barriers, gender barriers, and time constraints.
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
3.7K