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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday July 23 2017, @06:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the what-about-swearing? dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Every time we open our mouths, we unwittingly reveal our personalities.

If you overheard a conversation on a bus, do you think you could tell from the words that were used and the topics discussed, the personality of the people who were chatting? What about if I showed you a short story? Could you glean something about the character of the author from their language?

We're often reminded "choose your words carefully" – well it turns out the words themselves may reveal far more than what we're actually trying to say. There's mounting evidence that our personality is written, quite literally, in the language that we use, from the tweets we send to our choice of email address.

Not all findings are particularly surprising. Those who score highly on extroversion really are a lot louder and chattier than their more introverted peers. They also tend to speak more quickly. Female extroverts, but not males, are more likely to have group chats, while introvert men (but not women) spend more time talking to themselves.

But introverts and extroverts also use language very differently. A few years ago, a group of researchers led by Camiel Beukeboom at VU University, Amsterdam, asked a group of 40 volunteers to look at photos of different social situations and describe out loud what was going on. They found that extroverts' language tended to be more abstract and "loose", while introverts spoke in more concrete terms. In other words, introverts tend to be a lot more specific.

Extroverts say: "This article is excellent"

Introverts say: "This article is very informative"

In line with this, other research has found that introverts tend to use more articles (the/a) – which, by definition, refer to individual objects or events. They also tend to be more cautious in their language: that is, they use more hedging (perhaps, maybe), and more quantifiable terms, such as referring to specific numbers.

Extroverts say: "Let's get some food"

Introverts say: "Perhaps we could go for a sandwich"

All of this makes psychological sense. Most extroverts enjoy the fast life, being more likely to drink, sleep around and take risks than introverts; every time they open their mouths, too, extroverts are prepared to take greater risks with the accuracy, spontaneity and reach of what they say.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by kurenai.tsubasa on Sunday July 23 2017, @09:15PM

    by kurenai.tsubasa (5227) on Sunday July 23 2017, @09:15PM (#543481) Journal

    Huh. Didn't know I was an extrovert.

    That's a relief. I'd hate to be introverted during my time incarnated as one of a species that rewards bullying, gas lighting, abusive, lying, conniving, fabricating, insincere, manipulative, groupthinking, conclusion jumping, might-is-right, sociopathic, greedy extroverts.

    An introverted crab trying to get out of the bucket before the humans eat her needs to be pulled back in because escaping the bucket is antisocial behavior. Hammer down any nail that sticks up taller than the other nails. Independent thought will not be tolerated. Us extroverts know that the only true intelligence is bellyfeel [wikipedia.org]. The meaning of life is looking down and worrying about our place in the dirt [rottentomatoes.com]. When will Trump get around to creating an initiative to publish new federal textbooks that will Correct the Record to explain that the moon landing was a hoax?! Trump! Trump! Trump! Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall! Put another brick in the wall, and let's wait for the worms to come!

    Oh my stars, I don't want to live on Sol d any more (Sol III depending on how you count). Choosing to come here was a big fucking mistake. I'll take my chances on Thuban e the next time around. Plenty of other species right here in the Milky Way that are just slightly more serious about building a galactic civilization.

    I hope…. Seems like an awful waste of space [wikiquote.org] otherwise.

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