One hundred thirty African American subjects listened to audiotapes of vernacular speech patterns. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups. Group I heard a Black English (BE) speaking person, Group 2 heard a codeswitching (CS) speaker, and Group 3 heard a Standard English (SE) speaking person. The content was the same in BE, SE, and CS scenarios, varying only in speech patterns. Subjects were then asked to complete an Interpersonal Evaluation Inventory (IEI) for the respective speaker Two additional items assessed how much the subject would want to get to know the model and how much the subject would want to work with that model on a committee. The results indicated that the SE model was rated as more likable than either the BE or CS model, that no significant difference existed in ratings of BE and CS speakers, and that male subjects rated models as more likable than did female subjects regardless of vernacular In addition, subjects also expressed a greater desire to work with the SE model than with either the BE or CS model. It was also found that male subjects expressed a greater desire than female subjects to get to know the speakers and to work with them on a committee. The implications of thefindings were discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Addington, D. W.
(1968). The relationship of selected vocal characteristics to personality perception. Speech Monographs, 25, 492-503.
2.
Anderson, N. H.
(1968). Likableness ratings of 555 personality-trait words. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 272-279.
3.
Anisfeld, E.
, & Lambert, W. E. (1964). Evaluational reactions of bilingual and monolingual children to spoken languages. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 69, 89-97.
4.
Ball, P.
, Giles, H., & Hewstone, M. (1985). Interpersonal accommodation and situational constraints: An integrative formalization. In H. Giles (Ed.), Recent advances in language, communication and social psychology (pp. 263-286). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
5.
Blake, D. J.
, Maisiak, R., Brown, S., & Koplan, A. (1986). Acceptance by artritis patients of clinical inquiry into their sexual adjustment. Psychosomatics, 27(8), 576-579.
6.
Burling, R.
(1973). English in Black and White. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
7.
Doss, R. C.
, & Gross, A. M. (1992). The effects of Black English on stereotyping in intraracial perceptions. Journal of Black Psychology, 18(2), 47-58.
8.
Dovidio, J. F.
, Evans, N., & Tyler, R. B. (1986). Racial stereotypes: The contrasts of their cognitive representations. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 22(1), 22-37.
9.
Evuleocha, S. U.
, & Ugbah, S. D. (1989). Stereotypes, counter-stereotypes, and Black television images in the 1990's. Western Journal of Black Studies, 13(4), 197-205.
10.
Fowler, W. E.
, Wagner, W. G., Iachini, A., & Johnson, J. T. (1992). The impact of sex of psychological examiner on sexually abused girls' preference for and anticipated comfort with male versus female counselors. Child Study Journal, 22(1), 1-10.
11.
Garibaldi, A. M.
(1992). Educating and motivating African American males to succeed. Journal of Negro Education, 61(1), 4-11.
12.
Garner, T.
, & Rubin, D. L. (1986). Middle class Blacks' perceptions of dialect and style shifting: The case of southern attorneys. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 5, 33-48.
13.
Giles, H.
, & Powesland, P. (1975). Speech style and social evaluation. London: Academic Press.
14.
Gould, S. J.
, & Weil, C. E. (1991). Gift-giving roles and gender self-concepts. Sex Roles, 24(9-10), 617-637.
15.
Grosjean, F.
(1982). Life with two languages: An introduction to bilingualism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
16.
Hoover, M. R.
(1978). Community attitudes toward Black English. Language in Society, 7, 65-87.
17.
Johnson, C. S.
(1941). Growing up in the Black belt. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.
18.
Keane, T. M.
, St. Lawrence, J. S., Himadi, W. G., & Kelly, J. A. (1983). Blacks' perceptions of assertive behavior. Behavior Modication, 7, 97-11.
19.
Kelly, J. A.
(1982). Social-skills training: A practical guide for interventions. New York: Springer.
20.
Kelly, J. A.
, Kern, J. M., Kirkley, B. G., Patterson, J. N., & Keane, T. M. (1980). Reactions to assertive versus unassertive behavior: Differential effects for males and females and implications for assertiveness training. Behavior Therapy, 11, 670-682.
21.
Kelly, J. A.
, St. Lawrence, J. S., Bradlyn, A. S., Himadi, W. G., Graves, K. A., & Keane, T. M. (1982). Interpersonal reactions to assertive and unassertive styles when handling conflict situations. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 2, 33-40.
22.
Kern, J. M.
(1982). Predicting the impact of assertive, empathetic-assertive, and nonassertive behavior: The assertiveness of the assertee. Behavior Therapy, 13, 486-498.
23.
Lambert, W. E.
, Anisfeld, M., & Yeni-Komshian, G. (1965). Evaluational reactions to Jewish and Arab adolescents to dialect and language variations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2, 84-90.
24.
Lambert, W. E.
, Hodgson, R. C., Gardner, R. C., & Fillenbaum, S. (1960). Evaluational reactions to spoken languages. Journal of Abnonnal and Social Psychology, 60, 44-51.
25.
Larimer, G. S.
(1968). Social judgment approach to the investigation of French and English Canadian attitudes. Public Opinion Quarterly, 32, 281-286.
26.
Larimer, G. S.
(1970). Indirect assessment of intercultural attitudes. international journal of psychology, 5, 189-195.
27.
Larimer, G. S.
, Beatty, E. D., & Broadus, A. C. (1988). Indirect assessment of interracial prejudices. Journal of Black Psychology, 14(2) 47-56.
28.
McKirnan, D. J.
, Smith, C. E., & Hamayan, E. V. (1983). A sociolinguistic approach to the belief-similarity model of racial attitudes. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 19, 434-447.
29.
Milner, D.
(1975). Children and race. Harmondsworth, U.K.: Penguin.
30.
Milner, D.
(1981). Racial prejudice. In J. C. Turner & H. Giles (Eds.), Intergroup behavior. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
31.
Mims, H. A.
, & Camden, C. (1985). Awareness of and preference for usage of Black English grammar: (A preliminary report). Paperpresented at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Convention, Washington, DC.
32.
Naremore, R.
(1980). Language variation in a multicultural society. In T. J. Hixon, L. D. Shriberg, & J. H. Saxmon (Eds.), Introduction to communication disorders (pp. 176-212). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
33.
Pettigrew, T. F.
, & Martin, J. (1987). Shaping the organizational context for Black American inclusion. Journal of Social Issues, 43(1), 41-78.
34.
Seggie, I.
, Fulmizi, C., & Stewart, J. (1982). Evaluations of personality traits and employment suitability based on various Australian accents. Australian Journal of Psychology, 34(3), 345-357.
35.
Smitherman, G.
(1977). Talking and testifying: The language of Black America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
36.
Spigner, C.
(1991). Black impressions of people-of-color: A functionalist approach to film imagery. Western Journal of Black Studies, 15(2), 69-78.
37.
Street, R. L., Jr.
, & Giles, H. (1982). Speech accommodation theory: Asocial cognitive approach to language and speech behavior. In M. E. Roloff & C. R. Berger (Eds.), Social cognition and communication (pp. 193-226). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
38.
Tajfel, H.
, & Turner, J. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations. Monterey, CA: Brooks/ Cole.
39.
Trudgill, P.
(1975). Accent, dialect, and the school. London: Edward Arnold.
40.
Whiteman, M. F.
(Ed.). (1980). Reactions to Ann Arbor: Vernacular Black English and education. Arlington, VA: Center for Applied Linguistics.
41.
Williams, R.
, & Wolfram, W. (1976). Social dialects: Differences vs. disorders. Rockville, MD: American Speech and Hearing Association.
