Researchers are increasingly using language to study emotion, yet we know little about how language measures relate to other measures often used to study emotion, such as self-report, observer report, facial cues, and vocal cues. My work finds that language measures (in particular, language measures of valence) are correlated with a range of other measures used to study emotion and may therefore be a useful option when other measures are unavailable or impractical for a given research question.
In new research, I also examined whether language can help us manage other people's emotions when others turn to us for emotional support. Specifically, this work finds that greater use of 1st person pronouns (e.g., "I've had that happen to me before, too") relate to the other person's perceptions that their emotions improved and that the support provider was trustworthy. Greater use of 2nd person pronouns (e.g., "It sounds like you are going through a lot") related to the other person's perceptions that the support provider was both responsive and trustworthy.
In new research, I also examined whether language can help us manage other people's emotions when others turn to us for emotional support. Specifically, this work finds that greater use of 1st person pronouns (e.g., "I've had that happen to me before, too") relate to the other person's perceptions that their emotions improved and that the support provider was trustworthy. Greater use of 2nd person pronouns (e.g., "It sounds like you are going through a lot") related to the other person's perceptions that the support provider was both responsive and trustworthy.