The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions
Abstract Persuasion plays a crucial role in human communication. Yet, convincing someone to change their mind is often challenging. Here, we demonstrate that a subtle linguistic device, generic-you (i.e., “you” that refers to people in general, e.g., “You win some, you lose some”), is associated wit...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83440-1 |
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| author | Minxue Niu Emily Mower Provost David Jurgens Susan A. Gelman Ethan Kross Ariana Orvell |
| author_facet | Minxue Niu Emily Mower Provost David Jurgens Susan A. Gelman Ethan Kross Ariana Orvell |
| author_sort | Minxue Niu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Persuasion plays a crucial role in human communication. Yet, convincing someone to change their mind is often challenging. Here, we demonstrate that a subtle linguistic device, generic-you (i.e., “you” that refers to people in general, e.g., “You win some, you lose some”), is associated with successfully shifting people’s pre-existing views in a naturalistic context. Leveraging Large Language Models, we conducted a preregistered study using a large ( $$N_{trials}$$ = 204,120) online debate dataset. Every use of generic-you in an argument was associated with an up to 14% percent increase in the odds of successful persuasion. These findings underscore the need to distinguish between the specific and generic uses of “you” in large-scale linguistic analyses, an aspect that has been overlooked in the literature. The robust association between generic-you and persuasion persisted with the inclusion of various covariates, and above and beyond other pronouns (i.e., specific-you, I or we). However, these findings do not imply causality. In Supplementary Experiment 2, arguments with generic-you (vs. first-person singular pronouns, e.g., I) were rated as more persuasive by open-minded individuals. In Supplementary Experiment 3, generic-you (vs. specific-you) arguments did not differentially predict attitude change. We discuss explanations for these results, including differential mechanisms, boundary conditions, and the possibility that people intuitively draw on generic-you when expressing more persuasive ideas. Together, these findings add to a growing literature on the interpersonal implications of broadening one’s perspective via a subtle shift in language, while motivating future research on contextual and individual differences that may moderate these effects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a5349b9f02e472eb926ddff1f480da5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a5349b9f02e472eb926ddff1f480da52025-01-12T12:16:05ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-01-0115111010.1038/s41598-024-83440-1The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactionsMinxue Niu0Emily Mower Provost1David Jurgens2Susan A. Gelman3Ethan Kross4Ariana Orvell5Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of MichiganDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of MichiganDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, University of MichiganDepartment of Psychology, University of MichiganDepartment of Psychology, University of MichiganDepartment of Psychology, Bryn Mawr CollegeAbstract Persuasion plays a crucial role in human communication. Yet, convincing someone to change their mind is often challenging. Here, we demonstrate that a subtle linguistic device, generic-you (i.e., “you” that refers to people in general, e.g., “You win some, you lose some”), is associated with successfully shifting people’s pre-existing views in a naturalistic context. Leveraging Large Language Models, we conducted a preregistered study using a large ( $$N_{trials}$$ = 204,120) online debate dataset. Every use of generic-you in an argument was associated with an up to 14% percent increase in the odds of successful persuasion. These findings underscore the need to distinguish between the specific and generic uses of “you” in large-scale linguistic analyses, an aspect that has been overlooked in the literature. The robust association between generic-you and persuasion persisted with the inclusion of various covariates, and above and beyond other pronouns (i.e., specific-you, I or we). However, these findings do not imply causality. In Supplementary Experiment 2, arguments with generic-you (vs. first-person singular pronouns, e.g., I) were rated as more persuasive by open-minded individuals. In Supplementary Experiment 3, generic-you (vs. specific-you) arguments did not differentially predict attitude change. We discuss explanations for these results, including differential mechanisms, boundary conditions, and the possibility that people intuitively draw on generic-you when expressing more persuasive ideas. Together, these findings add to a growing literature on the interpersonal implications of broadening one’s perspective via a subtle shift in language, while motivating future research on contextual and individual differences that may moderate these effects.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83440-1PersuasionGeneric-youPronouns |
| spellingShingle | Minxue Niu Emily Mower Provost David Jurgens Susan A. Gelman Ethan Kross Ariana Orvell The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions Scientific Reports Persuasion Generic-you Pronouns |
| title | The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions |
| title_full | The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions |
| title_fullStr | The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions |
| title_full_unstemmed | The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions |
| title_short | The persuasive role of generic-you in online interactions |
| title_sort | persuasive role of generic you in online interactions |
| topic | Persuasion Generic-you Pronouns |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83440-1 |
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