The Effects of Expertise, Status Power, and Language Use on Perception of Task Partner

Abstract

An experiment manipulated the relative expertise and status power of dyad task partners, examining how expertise and status power affect language use and if linguistic cues that emerged during the interaction influence a partner's assessment of the speaker's competence. One hundred twenty-eight dyads worked together on a problem-solving task without knowing who had received better quality information beforehand. One hundred twenty-four interactions were transcribed and quantified using both language software and human coders. Members with superior expertise spoke more words and used more tag questions than those with less expertise. The data did not yield support for more politeness in low-status members’ language nor more confidence in high-expertise members’ language. Members who spoke more were perceived as more competent by partners. Members who used more hedges were perceived as more competent and polite. Results identified language features that can be used strategically to exert influence on others and manage impressions.