Inferring Identity From Language: Linguistic Intergroup Bias Informs Social Categorization.

The present research examined whether a communicator's verbal, implicit message regarding a target is used as a cue for inferring that communicator's social identity. Previous research has found linguistic intergroup bias (LIB) in individuals' speech: They use abstract language to describe in-group targets' desirable behaviors and concrete language to describe their undesirable behaviors (favorable LIB), but use concrete language for out-group targets' desirable behaviors and abstract language for their undesirable behaviors (unfavorable LIB). Consequently, one can infer the type of language a communicator is likely to use to describe in-group and out-group targets.

Précis of implicit nationalism.

While the study of nationalism has received much attention throughout the social sciences and humanities, the experimental investigation of it lags behind. In this paper we review recent advances in the examination of implicit nationalism. In the first set of experiments we survey, the Palestinian, Israeli, Italian, and Russian flags were primed (or not, in the control conditions) and their effects on political thought and behavior were tested.