The Stuff That Verbal Person-Centered Support Is Made of: Identifying Linguistic Markers of More and Less Supportive Conversations

Abstract

Although the functions of messages varying in verbal person centeredness (PC) are well-established, we know less about the linguistic content that differentiates messages with distinct levels of PC. This study examines the lexicon of different levels of PC comfort and seeks to ascertain whether computerized analysis can complement human coders when coding supportive conversations. Transcripts from support providers trained to enact low, moderate, or high levels of PC were subjected to the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) dictionary. Results reveal that several categories in the LIWC dictionary vary systematically as a function of conversational PC level. LIWC categories, particularly pronouns, social process, cognitive process, anxiety, and anger words, reliably predict which level of the PC hierarchy an interaction represents based on whether a conversation was designed to be high, moderate, or low in PC. The implications are discussed in the context of the lexicon of conversations that vary in PC.

Evaluating comforting messages with the sentiment analysis and social cognition engine

“…These findings replicate results found in previous studies (e.g. Cannava et al, 2018;Hersh, 2012). Individuals who provided person-centered messages also may be using self-reference pronouns to anchor supportive comments such as "I understand why you would be upset" in comparison with low VPC messages that may not be anchoring those same messages in the same way with comments such as "You shouldn't feel so bad."…”

“…Although other studies have used the LIWC (e.g. Cannava et al, 2018;Hersh, 2012), SEANCE should provide similar results. The current study contributed to the literature by utilizing another tool, SEANCE, a freely available language processing tool that, unlike the LIWC, has the ability to examine valence of negations (e.g.…”

“…Similarly, Cannava et al (2018) examined the three levels of VPC across the LIWC categories of cognitive mechanisms, positive and negative nouns, and pronouns. Cannava et al (2018) also examined the ability of the LIWC categories to predict VPC group membership among transcripts collected from dyadic conversations. Results indicated that messages high and low in person‐centeredness demonstrated the most cognitive process words (e.g.…”

“…Many studies that have utilized linguistical software (i.e. LIWC) to determine word content of supportive messages have focused on messages boards (Alpers et al, 2005; Thompson et al, 2016), comparison with computer supplied messages (Wang et al, 2012), vignettes (Burleson, 1994), and live interactions with confederates or strangers (Cannava et al, 2018). The current study examined the differences in word content and VPC between messages of support to a friend, mother‐figure, or father‐figure elicited from participants in response to a vignette of a stressful life experience.…”

Effects of Provider Identity and Locus of Supportive Conversation on Coping With an Identity-Threatening Stressor

“…There has been disagreement about the extent to which supportive messages should focus on a provider. Theory on VPC argues that messages that explicitly acknowledge a recipient's feelings constitute high-quality emotional support, and messages with high levels of VPC contain more second-person pronouns (i.e., you) than messages with less VPC (Cannava, High, Jones, & Bodie, 2018). Tailoring a message to a receiver's feelings is beneficial because these messages help receivers understand and make sense of their experiences (High & Dillard, 2012).…”