Shall “We” Talk? –The Psychological Meaning of We Pronoun in Interpersonal Interaction
Date Issued
2014
Date
2014
Author(s)
Lin, Wei-Fang
Abstract
Relational-focus and shared identity are important concepts in interpersonal processes and have positive impact on relationship functionings and personal health. Recently, researchers from language studies suggested that the use of the first-person plural pronoun (“we”) could be used as an implicit marker of relational-focus and shared identity. However, the relationships between the use of “we” pronoun and relationship satisfaction were unstable. Thus, clarification of possible moderating mechanisms are called for. Based on the perspective of ego-system and eco-system motivations, the current research argued that the interpersonal goals would moderate the relationships between “we” pronoun use and adjustment indices. Five studies with different operationalizations of the eco- and ego-motivation systems including self-affirmation priming, manipulations of approach and avoidance motivations, expression of gratitude, and individual differences measures, were adopted to examine this proposed moderation effect. Dyadic interactions between couples across various communication contexts were observed and their dialogues were recorded, transcribed, and then analyzed by LIWC.
Results confirmed that interpersonal motivations moderated the relationships between “we” pronoun uses and adjustment indices as predicted. More specifically, for those who hold eco-system motivation perspective, the more they used “we” pronoun in various communication contexts, the better relationship satisfaction and psychological adjustment they achieved. In contrast, for individuals with ego-system motivation, “we” pronoun positively correlated with negative outcomes. The current research confirmed the proposed moderation mechanism and further supported that language markers could be effective indices of implicit psychological processes. Empirical and theoretical implications are also discussed.
Subjects
心理適應
字詞分析
第一人稱複數代名詞
關係適應
Type
thesis
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