The power of powerless speech: The effects of speech style and task interdependence on status conferral

Two studies examine the effects of speech styles and task interdependence on status conferral judgments. In both studies, participants were exposed to an individual who used either a powerful or powerless speech style in a low or high task interdependence group, and made judgments about the amount o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Organizational behavior and human decision processes 2006-11, Vol.101 (2), p.243-261
Main Author: Fragale, Alison R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agency
Biological and medical sciences
Communality
Decision making
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Group dynamics
Interdependence
Power
Powerful speech
Powerless speech
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
Social status
Speech
Speech analysis
Speech Styles
Speeches
Status conferral
Studies
Task analysis
Task interdependence
Task performance
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Summary:Two studies examine the effects of speech styles and task interdependence on status conferral judgments. In both studies, participants were exposed to an individual who used either a powerful or powerless speech style in a low or high task interdependence group, and made judgments about the amount of status to confer to the individual. When task interdependence was low, participants conferred more status to powerful speakers, whereas when interdependence was high, participants conferred more status to powerless speakers. Furthermore, Study 2 demonstrated that speech styles influenced trait inferences about the speaker (agency and communality), but these traits were weighted differently in status conferral judgments across groups. These findings provide insight into both the relationship between observed behaviors and status positions and the decision process underlying status conferral judgments.
ISSN:0749-5978
1095-9920
DOI:10.1016/j.obhdp.2006.01.004