The Secret Life of Pronouns_ What Our Words Say About Us - James W. Pennebaker [61]
Dickens nicely captures the language of self-deception and self-awareness. Scrooge uses I-words half as often in his first speeches as in his last. He is also slightly less emotional at the beginning. You can discern more distancing in the first dialogue as well. In addition to greater use of discrepancy verbs such as would and could, he deflects attention away from himself by using much higher rates of words like you at the beginning. The only anomaly is Dickens’s overuse of concrete nouns and articles in the second speech. If only he had had LIWC when this was written in 1832, he would have known that Scrooge needed to say more a’s and the’s at the beginning of the book.
SELF-DECEPTION IN EVERYDAY STATEMENTS ON THE INTERNET
The language of the student whose father died and of Scrooge points to the type of self-deception associated with the denial or avoidance of emotion. How about the self-deception of overconfidence? There are a number of simple yet fun ways to answer the question. One is to think of common phrases that we all use when we are almost too certain of something versus when we are reasonably certain. For example, the phrase “There is absolutely no doubt that …” would only be used by someone with a tremendous amount of confidence—some might say overconfidence. But the phrase, “There is a possibility that …” would likely be embraced by speakers who are more tentative.
When people start sentences with these two differents phrases, what do they actually say? With search engine queries (using something like Google, Yahoo, or Bing), it is easy to answer the question. Here are some of the statements that resulted from each of the searches.
There is absolutely no doubt that:
superficial breathing ensures a superficial experience of ourselves.
high definition television is the way to go.
all who entered the Summer Holidays Picture Framing Competition produced pieces of an exceptional standard.
blackjack is a beatable game [and] you can have an edge over the casino.
God will forgive sex before marriage. God’s love for a person is not diminished because of the mistakes that person has made.
boxer shorts rule the planet for the ultimate comfort and style. Now crushing the hat industry will be HEAD BOXER HEADWEAR!
taking a few minutes to locate the rabbit breeder hobbyists near you is well worth the time.
anyone who does hear or read this amazing story will join in the fight to save our Country and our Nation’s Youth.
It is interesting to look at each of these statements for which there is absolutely positively no doubt. Maybe it’s just me but I harbor some serious doubts about a few of them. Did everyone who entered the framing competition really produce pieces of exceptional standards? And will boxer-short headwear really destroy the hat industry?
The language of these certainty statements is also striking. Phrases starting with “There is absolutely no doubt that” included few I-words, high rates of positive emotion words, and sentences that are simple and less specific. Now compare the certainty statements with those that start with a more humble, “there is a possibility that.”
There is a possibility that:
you could be pregnant. Arrive twenty minutes prior to your appointment time to complete registration.
I will be grounded if my parents find out about their car.
your former spouse may be entitled to financial information about your spouse from your second marriage in certain circumstances.
you may receive this survey from more than one source; if so, I apologize in advance for the duplication.
Who could disagree with any of these statements? The tone for most of the statements is measured and reasonable. You will