Learning about what others were doing: Verb aspect and attributions of mundane and criminal intent for past actions

William Hart, Dolores Albarracín

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Scientists have long been interested in understanding how language shapes the way people relate to others, yet it remains unclear how formal aspects of language influence person perception. We tested whether the attribution of intentionality to a person is influenced by whether the person's behaviors are described as what the person was doing or as what the person did (imperfective vs. perfective aspect). In three experiments, participants who read what a person was doing showed enhanced accessibility of intention-related concepts and attributed more intentionality to the person, compared with participants who read what the person did. This effect of the imperfective aspect was mediated by a more detailed set of imagined actions from which to infer the person's intentions and was found for both mundane and criminal behaviors. Understanding the possible intentions of others is fundamental to social interaction, and our findings show that verb aspect can profoundly influence this process.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)261-266
Number of pages6
JournalPsychological Science
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2011

Keywords

  • agency
  • attribution
  • intentionality
  • language
  • mentalizing
  • social cognition
  • thought

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Psychology

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