We gravitate to people who are like us; our “tribe”. One factor that we use to assume that others are like us, is by the way they talk. Not just the words they speak, but the accent that they use to communicate. And yes, we all have an accent!

Since the way we speak is central to our identity, do we have control over it by altering our accent or by learning a new language? And what implications does our hidden linguistic bias have in the workplace and for discrimination laws?

Pioneering psychologist Katherine Kinzler PhD has spent years researching the way we talk and listen to voices. Katherine is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and author of the recent book “How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do―And What It Says About You”. We talk with her about linguistic prejudices, and how she advocates for bilingualism, multilingual education and linguistic diversity.

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Topics

(4:16) Welcome to Katherine and speed round questions.

(6:00) Can language be both fixed and malleable at the same time?

(10:57) Why Katherine wrote a book about linguistic prejudice and valuing bilingualism.

(13:40) How do you define good communication?

(17:52) The implications of speech discrimination in the work place.

(20:40) Do we gravitate to people who share a similar linguistic pattern to ours?

(24:26) The value of multilingual education.

(26:11) How young children learn about language having social relevance.

(34:26) Our society teaches us to embed our kids with social norms.

(39:03) How music from different cultures influences young children.

(42:43) Grooving Session - linguistic prejudices and how we can overcome them.

© 2022 Behavioral Grooves

Links

Dr. Katherine Kinzler PhD: https://psychology.uchicago.edu/directory/katherine-d-kinzler

“How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do―And What It Says About You” by Katherine Kinzler: https://amzn.to/3BNn6BE

Episode 274, Paul Bloom: Why Finding Pleasure in Life is a Painful Journey: https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/pleasure-is-a-painful-journey/

Spelke ES, Kinzler KD. “Core knowledge” Developmental Science. 2007 Jan;10(1):89-96: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17181705/

Episode 102: Cristina Bicchieri: Social Norms are Bundles of Expectations https://behavioralgrooves.com/episode/cristina-bicchieri-social-norms-are-bundles-of-expectations/

Samuel A. Mehr, Lee Ann Song, Elizabeth S. Spelke, “For 5-Month-Old Infants, Melodies Are Social”: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797615626691

Behavioral Grooves Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/behavioralgrooves

Musical Links

Music with Mr. Dave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl1PsQ3ngWo&ab_channel=MrDaveMusic

Do We Judge Others By The Way They Speak? | Katherine Kinzler PhD

Behavioral Grooves Podcast