Intonation and Prosody in Creole Languages: An Evolving Ecology

Research on the prosody and intonation of creole languages has largely remained an untapped resource, yet it is important for enriching our understanding of how or if their phonological systems changed or developed under contact. Further, their hybrid histories and current linguistic ecologies present descriptive and analytical treasure troves. This has the potential to inform many areas of linguistic inquiry including contact effects on the typological classification of prosodic systems, socioprosodic variation (individual and community level), and the scope of diversity in prosodic systems among creole languages and across a variety of languages similarly influenced by language contact. Thus, this review highlights the importance of pushing beyond questions of creole language typology and genetic affiliation. I review the existing research on creole language prosody and intonation, provide some details on a few studies, and highlight some key challenges and opportunities for the subfield and for linguistics in general.

Psycholinguistic Markers of Therapeutic Rupture Types

This study was designed to further understand rupture events that counselors encounter during a counseling session that ultimately impact the quality of the therapeutic alliance. We employed a cross-sectional analysis of a linguistic corpus created from mock counseling transcripts embedded in a website administered by a peer-reviewed expert in the psychology field and three video recorded sessions of Carl Rodgers, Fritz Pearls, and Albert Ellis. The content of the corpuses was analyzed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software. The results showed a significant difference between she/he words, or third-person singular pronouns, and certainty words when comparing withdrawal and mixed rupture corpuses with a confrontation rupture corpus. In addition, we found a significant differences between positive emotion words and discrepancy words when comparing a rupture-infused psychotherapy corpus to a general psychotherapy corpus. Several implications for counseling and research are provided in response to these findings. Keywords: corpus linguistics, therapeutic alliance, alliance rupture, rupture event, LIWC

The psychological impact of COVID-19 on people suffering from dysfunctional eating behaviours: a linguistic analysis of the contents shared in an online community during the lockdown

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread several months ago from China and it is now a global pandemic. The experience of lockdown has been an undesirable condition for people with mental health problems, including eating disorders. The present study has the aim of understanding the impact of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with selfreported disordered eating behaviours. A linguistic analysis was carried out with regard to the online posts and comments published by 1971 individuals (86% women) in a Facebook online community focusing on EDs during the lockdown. A total of 244 posts and 3603 comments were collected during the 56 days of lockdown (from the 10th of March until the 4th of May 2020) in Italy and were analysed by Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software. The results showed that words related to peer support decreased in posts over time, and that anxiety and anger increased in the published comments. Moreover, greater feelings of negativity and anxiety were found in posts and comments throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as lesser use of words related to positive emotions. Thematic qualitative analysis revealed eight themes that described the main subjective components of ED symptomatology and distress during the first COVID-19 lockdown. The current findings can help in delivering tailored treatments to people with eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ОНЛАЙН КОГНІТИВНО-ПОВЕДІНКОВА ТЕРАПІЯ ЕМОЦІЙНОГО ДИСТРЕСУ СТУДЕНТІВ У ПЕРІОД ПАНДЕМІЇ COVID-19

Мета. COVID-19 пандемія на сучасному етапі трансформується у другу хвилю пандемії, пов’язану з пандемією розладів психічного здоров’я. Незважаючи на той факт, що студенти упродовж тривалого часу не вважалися вразливою категорією населення у період пандемії, результати останніх досліджень доводять, що вони переживають актуальний стрес, тривожність, самотність та депресію в умовах вимушеної соціальної ізоляції. Мета дослідження полягає в емпіричному вивченні емоційного дистресу студентів під час пандемії COVID-19, та науковому обґрунтуванні авторського онлайн ресурсу, базованому на когнітивно-поведінковій терапії (КПТ). Методи. У дослідженні використовувалися методи теоретичного та емпіричного дослідження, зокрема психодіагностичний інструментарій, представлений шкалою психологічного благополуччя К. Ріфф, шкалою депресії А. Бека, шкалою резілієнтності С. Хамса та ін., шкалою тривоги А. Бека. Для тематичного аналізу творів студентів використовувалася комп'ютерна програма Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC). Результати дослідження психологічного благополуччя свідчать про те, що найнижчий рівень вираження мають субшкали позитивного ставлення до інших, самоприйняття, цілі в житті та управління оточенням. Тому при розробці онлайн ресурсу саме ці аспекти психологічного благополуччя були враховані. Результати лінійного регресійного аналізу свідчать про те, що тривожність, депресія та резілієнтність сукупно є значущим предиктором психологічного благополуччя. Водночас лише депресія є незалежним значущим предиктором психологічного благополуччя студентів. Враховуючи тривожність та самотність як основні проблеми, про які зазначали студенти у своїх творах, а також соціальну тривожність, яка зростає в умовах неможливості вдосконалювати комунікативні вміння під час пандемії, ресурс був спрямований на зменшення цих негативних емоційні станів. Відповідно до трьох блоків онлайн ресурс отримав назву 3 (ТРИвожність) D (Депресія) САМ (САМотність). Аналіз виділених категорій когнітивних процесів, афектів, часу у творах студентів та методологічні засади КПТ дали змогу вибудувати зміст та структуру онлайн ресурсу для студентів. Висновки. Онлайн КПТ є важливим інноваційним форматом надання психологічної самодопомоги студентам в умовах соціальної ізоляції.

Language of Criminal Confessions

Confession evidence is powerfully persuasive, and yet many wrongful convictions involving false confessions have surfaced in recent years (Innocence Project, 2021; National Registry of Exonerations, 2021). Although police are trained to corroborate admissions of guilt, research shows that most false confessions contain accurate details and other content cues suggesting credibility as well as extrinsic evidence of guilt. Hence, a method is needed to help distinguish true and false confessions. In this study, we utilized a corpus-based approach to outline the linguistic features of two sets of confessions: those that are presumed true (n = 98) and those that have been proven false (n = 37). After analyzing the two corpora in LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) to identify significant categories, we created a logistic regression model that distinguished the two corpora based on three identified predictors: personal pronouns, impersonal pronouns, and conjunctions. In a first sample comprised of 25 statements per set, the model correctly categorized 37 out of 50 confessions (74%); in a second out-of-model sample, the predictors accurately classified 20 of 24 confessions (83.3%). A high frequency of impersonal pronouns was associated with confessions proven false, while a high frequency of conjunctions and personal pronouns were associated with confessions presumed to be true. Several patterns were observed in the corpora. In the latter set of confessions, for example, “I” was often followed by a lexical verb, a pattern less frequent in false confessions. Although these data are preliminary and not to be used for practical diagnostic purposes, the findings suggest that additional research is warranted.

Post-Traumatic Growth and Identity Construction in Covid-19 Messages Delivered to the People of Ghana by President Nana Akuffo Addo

This work analyses post-traumatic growth in Covid-19 addresses delivered to the people of Ghana by President Nana Akuffo Addo. We draw on Post-Traumatic Growth Theory to explain how Akuffo Addo constructs a new identity for himself and the nation in order to navigate through the pandemic and forge an agenda of growth and prosperity for Ghana. The study employs a linguistic content analysis approach. The data consists of twenty different speeches from the president to the people. The speeches are first analysed and coded manually for the five main tenets of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) identified in the updates. Consequently, the linguistic markers that are used in reconstructing the Ghanaian identity in response to the pandemic are delineated and mapped to the goals of the president using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count 2015 (LIWC2015; Pennebaker et al., 2015) software; a vocabulary analysis tool. The analysis showed that there was a high prevalence of personal pronoun use, use of positive-emotion words, and cognitive-processing words. This confirms our hypothesis that linguistic markers can be used to detect PTG.

Viewing Your Kapwa: Elaboration of a Social-Relational Construct through Language

Enriquez (1978) presented Kapwa as a core social psychological construct that could underpin Filipino social perception and interaction. However, issues arose regarding its conceptual and operational clarity as well as lack of empirical support. This two-phased study aims to address the issues presented through a psychometric approach. The first phase aimed to uncover construct characteristics by asking participants to provide definitions and examples of kapwa and di-kapwa, which were then examined via content analysis and the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) program. Results from this phase elicited four (4) themes indicating that people viewed their social other in terms of dispositional attribution, level of interaction, connection, and inclusion. The second phase utilized this data to develop a kapwa measure which was found to have three (3) dimensions: Relations with the Social Other, Perceived Negative Characteristics, and Difference from the Self. Initial reliability and validity tests were favorable. Implications on Filipino social perception and behaviors highlight that we view our social others in terms of the aforementioned three dimensions and how differentially we might treat them depending on whether they are perceived as kapwa or di-kapwa. Furthermore, the results of the study further elaborate and nuance kapwa, which adds to theorizing in Sikolohiyang Pilipino (SP).

Empathy Cultivation through (Pro)Social Media: A Counter to Compassion Fatigue

While a sizable body of literature suggests that repeated exposure to images of suffering may provoke compassion fatigue and news avoidance in audiences, this paper examines whether a different kind of representation can allow viewers to connect with the subjects of media coverage, cultivating empathy for them. The hope is that understanding the emotional impact of the way people are represented in news stories will help journalists better serve the public’s need for what Schudson called “social empathy”, “stories that—often in a human-interest vein—inform citizens about neighbors and groups they may not know or understand” and create a space where audiences can express positive emotions about their fellow citizens. This paper considers the reactions of followers of the “Humans of New York” (HONY) social media feed to the subjects of the feed’s posts, who are not portrayed as tragic victims, but humanized through portrayals of commonplace concerns, such as family, career, and romantic relationships. Comments on more than 8000 HONY posts over a year were analyzed using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count program. Results indicate that comments on HONY are overwhelmingly positive and socially oriented, suggesting that this type of representation may be effective in countering compassion fatigue and allowing for better social connection.

Emociones y engagement en los mensajes digitales de los candidatos a las elecciones generales de 2019

Las redes sociales se han convertido en los últimos años en una importante plataforma de comunicación a través de la que los candidatos promueven el compromiso político de sus electores. Una de las variables que podría influir en esa capacidad de generar engagement a través de las redes sociales es la utilización de mensajes con una importante carga emocional, tanto positiva como negativa. Nuestra investigación tiene como objetivo profundizar en el análisis de dicha relación entre el compromiso político y las emociones en las redes sociales, mediante el Análisis de Sentimientos en los tweets de los principales candidatos en las elecciones generales de abril y noviembre de 2019 en España. Para ello recurrimos a la técnica de extracción de textos y su análisis con el software Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC), poniendo en relación el nivel de presencia de emociones positivas y negativas, con el nivel de compromiso alcanzado por los candidatos durante la campaña electoral. Nuestro análisis contribuye a demostrar la existencia de relación entre la carga emocional del discurso en las redes sociales y el nivel de engagement que genera, aunque este parece estar mediatizado además por la agenda política y la estrategia de campaña de los partidos. Comprobamos además que la relación entre discurso emocional y engagement hacia un líder no es exclusivamente endógena, sino que puede obedecer también a elementos exógenos debido a la presencia de comunidades digitales compartidas.

Using LIWC to Analyze Participants’ Psychological Processing in Accounting JDM Research

This paper provides methodological guidance for judgment and decision-making (JDM) researchers in accounting who are interested in using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count (LIWC) text analysis program to analyze research participants’ written responses to open-ended questions. We discuss how LIWC’s measures of psychological constructs were developed and validated in psycholinguistic research. We then use data from an audit JDM study to illustrate the use of LIWC to guide researchers in identifying suitable measures, performing quality control procedures, and reporting the analysis. We also discuss research design considerations that will strengthen the inferences drawn from LIWC analysis. The paper concludes with examples where LIWC analysis has the potential to reveal participants’ deep, complex, effortful psychological processing and affective states from their written responses.