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In text Find Out more  boxes provide a brief, easy-to-read synopsis of a recently published SAGE Journal Article studies and research. For further research and exploration, each journal article is reprinted in full, below.

Research 6.1

Montepare, J.H., Kempler, D., & McLaughlin-Volpe, J.M. (2014). The voice of wisdom: New insights on social impressions of aging voices. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 33, 241-255.

Abstract: To understand better how age-related physical qualities affect age stereotyping, this research investigated the social judgments young adult listeners make when they hear the voices of younger, middle-aged, and older adult speakers. Ninetysix listeners judged 24 speakers (22-79 years in age) reading a content-neutral passage. The listeners rated each speaker on scales reflecting character traits, vocal characteristics, and social affordances. Consistent with traditional age stereotypes, listeners judged older speakers to be less powerful and less engaged than younger speakers. However, even stronger than these negative impressions were positive impressions of older speakers’ greater wisdom, which were associated with distinct age-related vocal qualities. Moreover, although listeners indicated a desire to avoid interactions with older speakers, they acknowledged them as good storytellers. The positive impressions of older speakers are interpreted within an evolutionaryecological perspective, suggesting that some age-related vocal qualities reveal longstanding, adaptive traits associated with older adulthood.

Research 6.2

Pantos, A.J. & Perkins, A.W. (2012). Measuring implicit and explicit attitudes toward foreign accented speech. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 32, 3-20.

Abstract: This study applies concepts and methods from the domain of Implicit Social Cognition to examine language attitudes toward foreign and U.S. accented speech. Implicit attitudes were measured using an Implicit Association Test (IAT) that incorporated audio cues as experimental stimuli. Explicit attitudes were measured through self-report questionnaires. Participants exhibited a pro-U.S. accent bias on the IAT measure but a pro-foreign accent bias on explicit measures. This divergence supports the conclusion that implicit and explicit attitudes are separable attitude constructs resulting from distinct mental processes and suggests that language attitudes research—which has traditionally measured only explicit attitudes—would benefit by incorporating indirect measures. The Associative-Propositional Evaluation Model is proposed as a comprehensive and consistent theory to explain the cognitive processing of language attitudes.

Research 6.3

Hwang, H.C.& Matsumoto, D. (2014). Cultural differences in victory signals of triumph. Cross Cultural Research, 48, 177-191.

Abstract: A recent study reported that winners in agonistic competition displayed a victory signal that might be related to power and dominance, but losers did not. We explored cultural differences in this victory expression by reanalyzing data from that study on the country level, examining the association between country means in Olympic judo players’ first expressions at the moment of winning or losing a medal and Hofstede’s Power Distance (PD) dimension. Country-level PD was correlated with winners’ victory signals but not with those of losers, even when country-level Individualism-Collectivism was controlled. These findings indicated that hierarchical and dominant cultures may endorse more expressivity of triumph in competitive contexts.