Differential Sensitivity to the Gender of a Person by English and Chinese Speakers

Jenn Yeu Chen*, Jui Ju Su

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Can a linguistic device of a language orient its speakers to a particular aspect of the world and result in increased sensitivity to that aspect? The question was examined with respect to the biological gender marker in English and the lack of it in Chinese. In Experiment 1, English and Chinese participants listened to stories and answered gender and non-gender related questions immediately after. It was found that, relative to the non-gender-related questions, the English participants were much faster and more accurate than the Chinese participants in answering the gender-related questions. In Experiment 2, English and Chinese participants were asked to determine which of two pictures matched the sentence shown immediately before. Relative to the non-gender-related sentences, the English participants were less slower and more accurate than the Chinese participants in responding to the gender-related sentences. The findings support the view that language can have an effect on information processing in human cognition.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)195-203
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Psycholinguistic Research
Volume40
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011 Jun
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biological gender
  • Chinese
  • English
  • Linguistic relativity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Linguistics and Language

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