Morality in Language

Stress

Why Calling Stress an Injury Matters

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on May 13, 2019

Language used around mental health should reflect the needs of people facing intense stress and stigma about getting help. Some word choices have the potential to reduce stigma.

Language used around mental health should reflect the needs of people facing intense stress and stigma about getting help. Some word choices have the potential to reduce stigma.

Law and Crime

Free Speech or Hate Crime? Studying the Role of Biases

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on September 27, 2018

Research on perceptions of free speech and hate crimes shows that perceiving harm and the right to express oneself are thoroughly tangled up in prejudices and biases.

Research on perceptions of free speech and hate crimes shows that perceiving harm and the right to express oneself are thoroughly tangled up in prejudices and biases.

Trauma

Wordlessness, Trauma, and the Right to Explanation

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on June 23, 2018

Recovering from trauma is a social and political process. Coming to terms with the event and why it happened hinges on whether one's claims of suffering are considered legitimate.

Recovering from trauma is a social and political process. Coming to terms with the event and why it happened hinges on whether one's claims of suffering are considered legitimate.

Intelligence

How Your Words Mask or Reveal Power and Compliance

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on October 9, 2017

The multitude of ways that we convey causation is both a blessing and a curse. It allows one to maintain a sense of self as a free agent. It also allows for moral ambiguity.

The multitude of ways that we convey causation is both a blessing and a curse. It allows one to maintain a sense of self as a free agent. It also allows for moral ambiguity.

Neuroscience

What Counts as "Fair" and What Makes People Care?

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on June 29, 2017

Allocators who stick to the rules are deemed the most fair—more fair than charitable allocators, or those who reciprocate favors.

Allocators who stick to the rules are deemed the most fair—more fair than charitable allocators, or those who reciprocate favors.

Leadership

Linguistic Smoke and Mirrors in Leadership

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on April 17, 2017

Is it advantageous for our leaders to potentially maintain an inflated moral self-image through indirect speech?

Is it advantageous for our leaders to potentially maintain an inflated moral self-image through indirect speech?

Bias

Who's Responsible for My Emotional Experience?

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on February 1, 2017

Our cognitive models of events are like little moral dramas with toy agents and patients acting according to stereotyped scripts about typical causes.

Our cognitive models of events are like little moral dramas with toy agents and patients acting according to stereotyped scripts about typical causes.

Neuroscience

Groping the Body Politic

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on November 1, 2016

The grounding of linguistic meaning in bodily experience is probably not something politicians think about, but could it have political consequences?

The grounding of linguistic meaning in bodily experience is probably not something politicians think about, but could it have political consequences?

Cognition

The Power of Contamination and Taint in Language

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on September 18, 2016

Do we need to distinguish between harm and purity to understand moral psychology? Contamination concepts in political rhetoric and coping suggest that we do.

Do we need to distinguish between harm and purity to understand moral psychology? Contamination concepts in political rhetoric and coping suggest that we do.

Relationships

Who Blames the Victim?

Laura Niemi, Ph.D. on August 18, 2016

Moral values constitute a core framework that organizes psychological processes to motivate predictable patterns of condemnation toward victims. Still, language matters!

Moral values constitute a core framework that organizes psychological processes to motivate predictable patterns of condemnation toward victims. Still, language matters!