Writing About the Silence: Identifying the Language of Ostracism. (October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Klauke, Fabian; Müller-Frommeyer, Lena C.; Kauffeld, Simone
• Is Part Of: Journal of language and social psychology. Volume 39:Number 5/6(2020)
• Page Start: 751
• Page End: 763
• Publication Date: 2020-10
• Subjects: ostracism -- language -- cognitive state -- emotional state -- word use -- word mapping; Sociolinguistics -- Periodicals; Psycholinguistics -- Periodicals; 401.905
• DOI: 10.1177/0261927X19884599
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0261-927X

Abstract

Autobiographical reports of episodes of ostracism and social inclusion were analyzed in two separate samples (German N = 93; English N = 243) using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. Recalling ostracism was associated with the use of more first-person singular pronouns, fewer first-person plural pronouns, and more complex language. These findings could reflect ostracism inducing a self-focus and putting high cognitive load on its targets. This study provides a first step to establish linguistic analysis as a tool for the research of social exclusion.