Language style and sex bias in the courtroom: The effects of male and female use of hedges and intensifiers on impression information

What do we really know about witness preparation?

“…Specifically, they found that a defendant in a civil case was more likely to be perceived as being guilty when her testimony contained either hedges or hesitations, and that a defendant whose testimony contained both hedges and hesitations was perceived as being less authoritative and less likeable than a defendant whose testimony did not contain these powerless speech components (Hosman & Wright, 1987). Finally, these researchers have also found that intensifiers alone do not have a large impact on mock jurors' perceptions of witnesses testimony (Wright & Hosman, 1983).…”

“…Project researchers studied recordings of actual courtroom testimony and designed experiments to assess the impact of different testimony styles on perceptions of witnesses' credibility and persuasiveness. The project produced several publications Erickson, Lind, Johnson, & O'Barr, 1978;Lind, Erickson, Conley, & O'Barr, 1978;O'Barr, 1982;O'Barr & Conley, 1976) and prompted a series of follow-up studies by other researchers (Barry, 1991;Bell, Zahn, & Hopper, 1984;Bradac, Hemphill, & Tardy, 1981;Hosman, 1989;Hosman & Wright, 1987;Hurwitz, Miron, & Johnson, 1992;Johnson & Vinson, 1987;Lisko, 1992;Parkinson, 1981;Parkinson, Geisler, & Pelias, 1983;Pryor & Buchanan, 1984;Wright & Hosman, 1983). Findings from this body of research provide the only direct empirical knowledge about the relation between witnesses' verbal communication styles and jurors' perceptions of their credibility and persuasiveness.…”

“…Others have extended the study's findings by examining specific components of powerless speech. For example, Wright and Hosman (1983) found that male and female witnesses who used hedges were seen as less socially attractive (likeable) than those who did not, and that credibility ratings were especially low for female witnesses who used hedges. This same group of researchers found similar findings using testimony from litigants.…”

“…Most of these studies have concluded that male and female mock jurors respond to powerful and powerless testimony in similar ways (Bradac et al, 1981;Hosman & Wright, 1987;Wright & Hosman, 1983;however, Erickson et al, 1978, found that credibility ratings were highest when jurors and witnesses were of the same sex).…”

Comme, Genre et Style Postposés en Français du Québec

“…Lakoff 1975;Jayez 1987;Wierzbicka 1986), par comparaison aux nombreux travaux sociolinguistiques et psycholinguistiques traitant de ce qui est alors appelé «hedges» (voir Aijmer 1987Aijmer , 1989Bradac et Mulac 1984;Brown et Levinson 1978;Crismore et Vande Kopple 1988Erikson et al 1978;Holmes 1990;Hosman 1989;Hübbler 1983;R. Lakoff 1975;Loewenberg 1982;Wright et Hosman 1983).…”