Euphemism as a powerful framing device that influences moral judgments and punitive responses after wrongdoing.

IF 9.4 1区 心理学 Q1 MANAGEMENT Journal of Applied Psychology Pub Date : 2024-08-29 DOI:10.1037/apl0001233
Matthew L Stanley, Christopher P Neck
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Abstract

Euphemism-that is, softening words or phrases substituted for more direct language-has become pervasive in our everyday personal and professional lives. Leveraging theory and research on construal and framing effects, we conceptualize euphemism as a linguistic framing device that influences how observers construe situations and the people, groups, objects, and events within them. We then experimentally investigate the effects of euphemism as a linguistic framing device on third-party judgments about moral transgressions (i.e., bribery, fraud). Across studies (total N = 3,081) we find consistent evidence that employing euphemistic labels (relative to their noneuphemistic analogs) reduces the perceived severity of moral transgressions and, as a result, also reduces third-party motivations to punish transgressors. Overt experimental manipulations to reconstrue euphemistic labels into their noneuphemistic forms reduced, but did not entirely eliminate, the effects on moral severity and punishment judgments. Participants did not sufficiently adjust their judgments. These findings underscore the power of simple linguistic manipulations in influencing public opinion, and they have important implications for the possibility of creating a more just and fair society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

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委婉语是一种强有力的构思手段,可影响道德判断和不法行为发生后的惩罚性反应。
委婉语--即用软化的词语或短语代替更直接的语言--在我们日常的个人和职业生活中已变得无处不在。利用关于构思和框架效应的理论和研究,我们将委婉语概念化为一种语言框架工具,它影响观察者如何构思情境以及情境中的人、群体、物体和事件。然后,我们通过实验研究了委婉语作为一种语言框架工具对第三方对道德过失(即贿赂、欺诈)的判断所产生的影响。在所有的研究中(总人数 = 3,081 人),我们发现了一致的证据,即使用委婉语标签(相对于非委婉语标签)会降低人们对道德过失严重性的感知,因此也会降低第三方惩罚过失者的动机。通过公开的实验操作,将委婉的标签重构为非委婉的形式,减少了对道德严重性和惩罚判断的影响,但并没有完全消除这种影响。参与者没有充分调整他们的判断。这些发现强调了简单的语言操纵在影响公众舆论方面的力量,它们对创造一个更加公正和公平的社会的可能性具有重要意义。(PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, 版权所有)。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
17.60
自引率
6.10%
发文量
175
期刊介绍: The Journal of Applied Psychology® focuses on publishing original investigations that contribute new knowledge and understanding to fields of applied psychology (excluding clinical and applied experimental or human factors, which are better suited for other APA journals). The journal primarily considers empirical and theoretical investigations that enhance understanding of cognitive, motivational, affective, and behavioral psychological phenomena in work and organizational settings. These phenomena can occur at individual, group, organizational, or cultural levels, and in various work settings such as business, education, training, health, service, government, or military institutions. The journal welcomes submissions from both public and private sector organizations, for-profit or nonprofit. It publishes several types of articles, including: 1.Rigorously conducted empirical investigations that expand conceptual understanding (original investigations or meta-analyses). 2.Theory development articles and integrative conceptual reviews that synthesize literature and generate new theories on psychological phenomena to stimulate novel research. 3.Rigorously conducted qualitative research on phenomena that are challenging to capture with quantitative methods or require inductive theory building.
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