Stereotypical Questions: How Stereotypes About Conversation Partners Are Reflected in Question Formulations.

In conversations, activated stereotypes about conversation partners can influence communicative behaviors. We investigate whether and how stereotypes about categorized conversation partners shape topic choice and the types of questions asked. In three experiments, participants imagined having a conversation. Gender or age stereotypes of the conversation partner were manipulated by means of a picture. Results show a higher likelihood of addressing conversation and question topics consistent with stereotypic expectancies about conversation partners. Moreover, stereotypes were reflected in subtle variations in question formulations. When questions address stereotype-consistent topics, they are likelier formulated with high-frequency adverbs and positive valence, while questions addressing stereotype-inconsistent topics more likely contain low-frequency adverbs and negative valence. In addition, Experiment 4 suggests that recipients are sensitive to detect that questions reflect stereotypes about themselves, which can influence the evaluation of the conversation and partner. We discuss the consequences of biased question asking for interpersonal conversation and stereotype maintenance.

How (not) to inform patients about drug use: use and effects of negations in Dutch patient information leaflets.

PURPOSE: Under EU regulations, patient information leaflets (PILs) are required to be clear and understandable. Negations (e.g., not, no) are a linguistic aspect that may impact PIL comprehension, yet go unmentioned in these regulations. We conducted two studies to determine (1) how negations are used in Dutch PILs (study 1) and (2) the effects of negations on readers (study 2). METHODS: Study 1 was a content analysis of 30 PILs of different brands of pollinosis drugs, half of which were freely available in drugstores and half only by physician prescription. We mapped negation use in PIL sections on 'proper usage' and 'potential side effects'. Study 2 was an experiment in which participants (N = 80, Mage = 33.19 years, SDage = 13.66; 76.3% female) were presented with one of two PIL texts on proper drug usage. Texts were identical except for the use of negations. After reading, participants answered questions about comprehension, PIL appreciation and medical adherence intentions. RESULTS: Study 1 demonstrates that negations are often used in PILs as 21.0% of clauses contain at least one negation. This number is higher in sections related to potential side effects than proper usage. Study 2 demonstrates that negations decrease both actual and subjective comprehension. Negations also decrease PIL appreciation and medical adherence intentions. The reduction in medical adherence intentions is driven by the decrease of subjective and not actual comprehension. CONCLUSIONS: In general, participants prefer PILs that contain clear and comprehensible language. To increase comprehensibility, PIL designers should refrain from using negations as much as possible.

How the doc should (not) talk: when breaking bad news with negations influences patients' immediate responses and medical adherence intentions.

OBJECTIVE: We investigate the role of specific formulations in a doctor's bad news delivery. We focus on the effects of negations and message framing on patients' immediate responses to the message and the doctor, and long-term consequences including quality of life and medical adherence intentions. METHODS: Two lab experiments with 2 (language use: negations vs. affirmations)×2 (framing: positive vs. negative) between-subjects designs. After reading a transcription (experiment 1) or seeing a film clip (experiment 2), participants rated their evaluation of the message and the doctor, expected quality of life, and medical adherence intentions. RESULTS: Positively framed bad news with negations score more negative on these dependent variables than positively framed affirmations (both experiments). For negatively framed negations, these results are reversed (experiment 2). Furthermore, the evaluations of the message (experiment 1) and the doctor (both experiments) mediate the interaction of framing and language use on medical adherence intentions. CONCLUSIONS: Small linguistic variations (i.e., negations vs. affirmations) in breaking bad news can have a significant impact on the health message, doctor evaluation and medical adherence intentions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Doctors should refrain from using negations to break positively framed news, and employ negations when breaking negatively framed news.

Stress-reducing effects of real and artificial nature in a hospital waiting room.

OBJECTIVES: This field study investigated the potential stress-reducing effects of exposure to real or artificial nature on patients in a hospital waiting room. Additionally, it was investigated whether perceived attractiveness of the room could explain these effects. DESIGN: In this between-patients experimental design, patients were exposed to one of the following: real plants, posters of plants, or no nature (control). These conditions were alternately applied to two waiting rooms. LOCATION: The location of this study was two waiting rooms at the Radiology Department of a Dutch hospital. SUBJECTS: The subjects comprised 457 patients (60% female and 40% male) who were mostly scheduled for echocardiogram, dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography scans, or nuclear research. RESULTS: Patients exposed to real plants, as well as patients exposed to posters of plants, report lower levels of experienced stress compared to the control condition. Further analyses show that these small but significant effects of exposure to nature are partially mediated by the perceived attractiveness of the waiting room. CONCLUSIONS: Natural elements in hospital environments have the potential to reduce patients' feelings of stress. By increasing the attractiveness of the waiting room by adding either real plants or posters of plants, hospitals can create a pleasant atmosphere that positively influences patients' well-being.

Organizational identification and the communication of identity: effects of message characteristics on cognitive and affective identification.

This paper reports an experimental study (N= 321) that tests how the cognitive and affective component of organizational identification (OI) can be affected by peripheral characteristics of organizational communication. Results show that adding cues in emails that signal organizational identity, such as the company logo, font, and colour of text, positively affect the cognitive component of OI, but not the affective component. In contrast, a personal focus in the message had a positive effect on the affective, but not on the cognitive component of OI. This study supports the idea that OI is a multi-faceted construct comprising a cognitive and affective component, and that these different components can be affected by different characteristics of organizational email messages.

The negation bias: when negations signal stereotypic expectancies.

Research on linguistic biases shows that stereotypic expectancies are implicitly reflected in language and are thereby subtly communicated to message recipients. We examined whether these findings extend to the use of negations (e.g., not smart instead of stupid). We hypothesized that people use more negations in descriptions of stereotype-inconsistent behavior than in descriptions of stereotype-consistent behavior. In 3 studies, participants either judged the applicability of experimentally controlled person descriptions or spontaneously produced person descriptions themselves. Results provided support for this hypothesis. Moreover, a 4th study demonstrated that negations have communicative consequences. When a target person's behavior was described with negations, message recipients inferred that this behavior was an exception to the rule and that it was more likely caused by situational circumstances than by dispositional factors. These findings indicate that by using negations people implicitly communicate stereotypic expectancies and that negations play a subtle but powerful role in stereotype maintenance.