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How authority affects social evaluations of negotiation words
Allison Nguyen1,2, Jean E Fox Tree3
1Department of Psychology, University of California, 1156 High St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA. anguye9@ilstu.edu.
Authority significantly impacts online communication perceptions. Negotiation words affect perceived professionalism, knowledgeableness, and friendliness, with effects varying by speaker authority level in online forums.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Communication Studies
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Effective online communication relies on understanding social evaluations.
- Authority perceptions influence how written messages are interpreted.
- Online forums require nuanced communication strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of negotiation words on perceived attributes.
- To analyze how authority levels (professor, TA, student) moderate these effects.
- To assess effects on knowledgeableness, professionalism, politeness, and friendliness.
Main Methods:
- Participants evaluated messages in a mock online forum.
- Messages varied in negotiation word usage (hedges, boosters).
- Speaker authority was manipulated across three levels.
Main Results:
- Negotiation words generally decreased professionalism for professors and TAs, but not students.
- Hedges reduced perceived knowledgeableness; boosters had no significant effect.
- Certain words like 'clearly' and 'obviously' decreased friendliness and politeness across all groups.
- The word 'totally' uniquely increased friendliness for high-authority speakers.
Conclusions:
- The use of negotiation words in online communication is context-dependent.
- Authority plays a critical role in how linguistic strategies are perceived.
- Understanding these dynamics is key for optimizing online interaction design.
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