Article summary with: The effect of linguistic abstraction on interpersonal distance van Reitsma - van Rooijen et. al (2007)

When we talk to people, we often make inferences about what we think of them (like, dislike, good, awkward), even though we don’t say it out loud. It’s not always clear why we feel close or distant towards another person. The authors of this article think that very subtle language messages may cause these feelings of closeness or distance. For example: people usually don’t use any form of prejudice directly towards a person. If prejudice plays a role in a conversation, the signs are way more subtle. Still, these signs can influence feelings of distance.

The same goes for the description of behaviour from in-group and out-group. Postive in-group behaviour and negative out-group behaviour are described in abstract terms (X is helpful, Y is aggressive). Postive out-group behaviour and negative in-group behaviour are described in more concrete ways (X helps, Y hurts). See the table below

The problem with these subtle language differences is that they are partly responsible for maintaining biased judgements. This happens because abstract language is connected with enduring behaviour, while concrete language is connected with momentary behaviour. So if someone hurts (concrete), that doesn’t mean that this person does that all the time. If somebody is aggressive (abstract), it is in this persons nature to be aggressive.

This process has never been researched with feedback. If you talk to somebody, you get feedback on your behaviour. What happens when this is added into a research design?

Methods

Participants had to write down an event about either a good thing they did, or a bad thing. They were told somebody else would read this and form a first impression. After that, they would receive either concrete (“in this situation, you acted..”) or abstract (“you are someone who is..”), negative or positive feedback on this behaviour. So there were four possibilities: negative concrete, positive concrete, negative abstract or positive abstract. It was said that the feedback came from the person that was forming a first impression.

After the feedback, the participants had to fill in an edited questionnaire about interpersonal distance, called the Inclusion of Other in Self-scale (IOS) and some questions about the relationship with the other person (who gave the evaluation).

Results and discussion

If you receive positive abstract feedback, you feel more close to the person giving feedback, than if you receive positive concrete feedback. If you receive negative abstract feedback, you feel more distance towards the person giving feedback than if you receive negative concrete feedback. So, if you say “Oh you seem like a nice person” that person will like you more than when you say “Oh you acted so nice in that situation”. But if you say “Oh you seem like a mean person”, that person will feel more distance towards you than when you say “Oh you acted like a mean person in that situation”.

There are a few limitations to this study. One is the difference in tenses between the abstract and the concrete feedback. Abstract is in present tense (“you seem”), while concrete is in past tense (“you acted”). There’s not yet a solution for this problem.