The question–answer paradigm: You might regret not noticing how a question is worded.

Abstract

In 2 experiments the authors investigated how verb choice in question formulation influences respondents' answers. These studies show that (a) as hypothesized, the choice of verb type (action vs, state) in forming a question influences interviewees' narratives systematically by impacting, inter alia, which individual is implicitly described as the causal originator of a social event; (b) interviewees are not aware of how their answers are manipulated; and (c) others who listen to or read the very same answers are sensitive to the linguistic differences in the narratives that are shaped by verb choices in question formulation. The implications of these findings for the self-fulfilling prophecy are discussed.How one answers questions can have dramatic consequences. It can make a difference between getting or losing a job, being convicted or released, and being trusted or distrusted. Obviously, the way one asks questions is also crucial and can have similar existential implications, such as making the difference between getting married or being dumped or between going out on a date or picking daisies. In two studies, we investigated how answers are shaped by the verbs used in forming the questions. This issue gives rise to three interrelated questions that we address here: (a) Are respondents' answers influenced by the types of predicates (verbs) that are used in question formulation? (b) If so, are respondents aware of this influence? (c) Moreover, do third parties detect the influence of question formulation on the answers when they read or listen to the answers? The match or mismatch between respondents' and third parties' perceptions clearly also becomes a critical issue, because the implications of mismatches can be far reaching.The research paradigm that we used to investigate these questions is the question-answer paradigm (QAP; Semin, Rubini, & Fiedler, 1995). The core theme of the QAP is that there are systematic differences in the way in which people answer two questions that are similar on the surface but differ in terms of the type of verb used in formulating the question. Consider the questions ''Why do you like the Washington Post?" and "Why do you read the Washington Post?" Both questions may appear to be requests to explain one's newspaper preference. If, however, the different verbs used in these two questions lead to answers that differ systematically in terms of how the explanation is grounded, then one would conclude that the choice of verb influences answers.

Communication Patterns in Interdependent Relationships

“…One such subtle property is to be found in the types of predicates that people use in communication and the relative frequency with which they use them. There is now a substantial literature showing that the relative use of interpersonal verbs and adjectives in the compositions of messages (Semin & Fiedler, 1988 is not only diagnostic of the types of psychological processes that drive message composition (e.g., Maass, 1999) but also informative about the type of impact such messages are likely to have upon the inferences that recipients of such messages are likely to draw (e.g., Semin & de Poot, 1997).…”

When words feel right: How affective expressions of listeners change a speaker's language use

“…When they have negative expressions they will withhold each other from making interpretative statements, but instead cause one another to stick to concrete information. The fact that abstract and concrete language (e.g., in questions) induces replies at the same level of abstraction (Semin & De Poot, 1997) adds to this perpetuating process. Thus, subtle affective cues may strongly direct the course and outcome of conversations.…”

Pragmatic aspects of persuasion and manipulation in written advertisements

“…These are called metasemantic features by Semin and De Poot (1997). In their empirical study they investigated how the choice of verb in question formulation influenced respondents' answers.…”

“…The second type of manipulation could possibly be revealed from oral discourse and from a particular situation in a well-designed social psychological experiment. Strategies listed under (iii) can be quantitatively measured and compared, but their efficiency can be checked only empirically like in the experiments of Loftus (1979), and Semin and De Poot (1997) (see 2.3.). In the present study the fourth type of manipulation (fallacious argumentation) will be discussed in detail.…”