Science proves that grammar bullies are d1cks

steddyeddy

Article from Sciencedirect. Studies conducted for the first time have demonstrated a link between grammar bullies and them being complete d1cks. I don't think this is news but it's nice to have some data on it. I never understood grammar bullies. Granted there is some terrible use of grammar out there but I don't think the way to tackle that is to humiliate people and condescend. It's not about improving grammar it's about gloating.

Scientists have found that people who constantly get bothered by grammatical errors online have "less agreeable" personalities than those who just let them slide.
And those friends who are super-sensitive to typos on your Facebook page? Psychological testing reveals they're generally less open, and are also more likely to be judging you for your mistakes than everyone else. In other words, they're exactly who you thought they were. That sounds pretty obvious, but this is actually the first time researchers have been able to show that a person's personality traits can actually determine how they respond to typos and grammatical errors, and it could teach us a lot about how people communicate (or miscommunicate) online.


"This is the first study to show that the personality traits of listeners/readers have an effect on the interpretation of language," said lead researcher Julie Boland from the University of Michigan. "In this experiment, we examined the social judgments that readers made about the writers."
The researchers took 83 participants and asked them all to read email responses to an ad for a housemate, which either contained no errors or had been altered to include typos (e.g. "teh" instead of "the") or grammatical mix-ups, such as too/to or it's/its.
Those 83 people then judged the person who'd written the email based on their perceived intelligence, friendliness, and other attributes, such as how good they'd be as housemates.
They were also asked at the end of the experiment whether or not they'd spotted any grammatical errors or typos in the emails, and, if so, how much it had bothered them.
The researchers then asked the participants to complete a Big Five personality assessment - which rates where they are on a scale of openness, agreeableness, extraversion/introversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness - as well as answer questions about their age, background, and attitude towards language.
Overall, everybody rated the fictional housemate applicants with typos and grammatical errors in their emails as worse than those with perfect spelling and grammar. But there were definitely certain personality types that judged the typo-riddled applicants more harshly.

For example, extraverts were generally much more likely to overlook both grammar mix ups and typos, whereas introverts were more likely to judge the applicants negatively because of them.
And people who tested as being more conscientious but less open were more sensitive to typos, while those with less agreeable personalities got more upset by grammatical errors. "Perhaps because less agreeable people are less tolerant of deviations from convention," the researchers write.
Interestingly, how neurotic someone was didn't affect how they interpreted mistakes.
The differences picked up in the research were pretty subtle - and it's a small sample size in general, so we need to take the results with a grain of salt - but the results couldn't be explained by people's age or education, which suggests that personality traits were playing a role.
More research is now needed to sure up these links, but for now, take comfort in the fact that typos can happen to everyone, but it takes a particular type of person to constantly point them out to you.

paleoperson

Oh come on. You can't seriously consider this "science".

It might be interesting or valid or legitimate, we can have opinions on it and discuss it, it is NOT science.

ygolometsipe

its deyecks not d1cks

ffs

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

That's not true. I'm outstanding at grammar and spelling, and always use punctuation and I'm an absolute delight

Liberosis

ygolometsipe wrote: »

its deyecks not d1cks

ffs

*It's

:P Sorry, couldn't resist.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

paleoperson wrote: »

Oh come on. You can't seriously consider this "science".

It might be interesting or valid or legitimate, we can have opinions on it and discuss it, it is NOT science.

Don't argue with science!!!

ygolometsipe

Liberosis wrote: »

*It's

:P Sorry, couldn't resist.

deyeck

Zaph

For example, extraverts were generally much more likely to overlook both grammar mix ups and typos, whereas introverts were more likely to judge the applicants negatively because of them.

They spelled extroverts wrong. :pac:

Fr_Dougal

As long as someone makes an effort it's grand by me. Can't stand 'txt spk' though, not even in texts.

steddyeddy

LexieOnRale wrote: »

That's not true. I'm outstanding at grammar and spelling, and always use punctuation and I'm an absolute delight

There's a difference between being good at grammar and criticising others for their. I am good at maths but would be a d1ck of I belittled others for not being as good.

diomed

Big scientific experiment - 83 participants !!!

fleet_admiral

People that use the wrong grammer reely annoy me

steddyeddy

paleoperson wrote: »

Oh come on. You can't seriously consider this "science".

It might be interesting or valid or legitimate, we can have opinions on it and discuss it, it is NOT science.

Well that's debatable but it was certainly a study.

jamesbere

Grammar me good yes

Delirium

Scientists have found that people who constantly get bothered by grammatical errors online have "less agreeable" personalities than those who just let them slide.

Good job, Prof Obvious :P

I'm lovely

FortySeven

Who decided that extroverts are the preferred personality types? I personally find extroverts to be mostly false and facile. Actors in the main.

Would much rather share a house with a grammar Nazi who was comfortable in themselves than a crowd pleasing neurotic.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

steddyeddy wrote: »

There's a difference between being good at grammar and criticising others for their. I am good at maths but would be a d1ck of I belittled others for not being as good.

Disclaimer: I actually can't spell at all and it doesn't bother me because when you're as awesome as me you don't need to know your spellings

buried

The less agreeable people on the planet are Scientists themselves

Capt'n Midnight

Hey! My name is Pat and I’m interested in sharing a house with other students who are serious abuot there schoolwork but who also know how to relax and have fun. I like to play tennis and love old school rap. If your someone who likes that kind of thing too, maybe we would mkae good housemates.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Are you in collage pat

Duiske

fleet_admiral wrote: »

People that use the wrong grammer reely annoy me

Your one of those over-sensitive types, ain't ya. You're type give me a pain in me nads.

FortySeven

FortySeven wrote: »

Who decided that extroverts are the preferred personality types? I personally find extroverts to be mostly false and facile. Actors in the main.

Would much rather share a house with a grammar Nazi who was comfortable in themselves than a crowd pleasing neurotic.

Hmmm...maybe those extroverts aren't the more judgemental after all.

FortySeven

Candie wrote: »

Hmmm...maybe those extroverts aren't the more judgemental after all.

That was the general thrust of the article. Yes.

FortySeven

FortySeven wrote: »

That was the general thrust of the article. Yes.

I know, I was making a joke about the obvious nature of the findings in the light of your post, as an admitted introvert.

I'll admit it wasn't a great joke. Possibly even a poor one.

Dial Hard

steddyeddy wrote:

. Studies conducted for the first time have demonstrated a link between grammar bullies and them being complete d1cks.

steddyeddy wrote:

There's a difference between being good at grammar and criticising others for their*. I am good at maths but would be a d1ck of I belittled others for not being as good.

There's also a difference between being a grammar "bully"/belittling people and constructively pointing out errors.

I'm rubbish at maths. If I got a problem wrong I'd expect to be corrected on it. Why is English any different?





*I'm presuming this was deliberate baiting.

The Rape of Lucretia

LexieOnRale wrote: »

That's not true. I'm outstanding at grammar and spelling, and always use punctuation, and I'm an absolute delight.

Oh really ?

Jimoslimos

Zaph wrote: »

They spelled extroverts (extraverts) wrong. :pac:

Maybe they're very green.

FortySeven

Candie wrote: »

I know, I was making a joke about the obvious nature of the findings in the light of your post, as an admitted introvert.

I'll admit it wasn't a great joke. Possibly even a poor one.

Agreed, :-)

osarusan

More research is now needed to sure up these links

:pac::pac:

Call me Adolf.

Ficheall

I'm disappointed in you for promoting this muck, steddyeddy.

BlondeMoment

83 whole people!? Well thats accurate...

Capt'n Midnight

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0149885

Eighty-three native English speakers were recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and completed the experiment for a fee of $1 each.

Capt'n Midnight

Slightly relevant http://asset-a.soupcdn.com/asset/16065/2914_a51e_500.png

Arghus

That series of tests proves nothing - tiny sample size, negliable result response differences.

If that's something being proven: then God help us. All they can say is "test results may show a link". And they are being charitable with that.

Pure clickbait nonsense.

Speedwell

I used to work as a proofreader and copy editor back in the day. If ever I had a problem with people's spelling and grammar, the Internet has burned it out of me. People sometimes ask me if bad writing bothers me. Folks, I have worked on scholarly manuscripts by college professors that would put me in an early grave if I let that sort of thing bother me. On the Internet, so long as I am reasonably sure I understand you, you can write like a dyslexic cat if you want to. If you want me to comment on your grammar and spelling, I get an hourly rate for that work.

The "news" that picky, chronically dissatisfied, fault-finding people are @$$holes doesn't overwhelm me with its perspicacity.

Wibbs

Dial Hard wrote: »

There's also a difference between being a grammar "bully"/belittling people and constructively pointing out errors.

Constructively being the operative word and that's not an easy thing to navigate. Some wouldn't exactly be great with social cues so may think they're being constructive, but are coming across as overbearing eejits. Never mind that it's not my job as an adult to be "pointing out errors" in other adults, not unless they're learning a new language and ask for my help. Otherwise it's damned presumptuous.

I'm rubbish at maths. If I got a problem wrong I'd expect to be corrected on it. Why is English any different?

Because language evolves and varies with location. 2+2=4 has been right forever and everywhere, but on your best most grammatically pristine day, your english would be wrong 150 years ago and will be wrong 150 years hence. Location matters too. For example in Hiberno English a sentence such as; "I'm after going to the shops" is correct, but would make an American grammar nazi's head implode.

Of the grammar nazis I know in the real world, they do conform to a general type. They crave order and need rules. Disorder and anarchy freak them right out. Line up their pens on their desk with military precision types. That I have only retained one such chap as a friend says much about his patience with me... It makes sense that such a personality would get itchy hair when they read the wrong "their" on page or screen. I'd be Sheldon Cooper enough that I get a little squirmy when I read "then" used when "than" is correct. Actually that one gets me mainly because it's the one you see the most in otherwise bright people. Which is fine, humanity needs that personality type in a big way. Put it like this; if my type was a programmer the interwebs would consist of a lot of tin cans and a lot of string.

The issue is if you then decide to be smug about it and sneer at people not conforming to your Rainman ideals as some ego onanism. That's when you become a dick. If you band together on Facebook or twitter to do so then you become a collection of dicks. Hmmm… What would one call such a group? A throbbing of dicks, or a flaccid?

Speedwell

Wibbs wrote: »

If you band together on Facebook or twitter to do so then you become a collection of dicks. Hmmm… What would one call such a group? A throbbing of dicks, or a flaccid?

A clusterf*ck.

I'm a female Aspie and I work for a programmer, writing documentation. If I don't care, nobody should care. But petty people will be petty.

mfceiling

Ah Wibbs don't get so upset...

*pats Wibbs on shoulder*

Their, There, They're

Capt'n Midnight

mfceiling wrote: »

*pats Wibbs on shoulder*

Their, There, They're

Did you do that for a dare ?

Victor

Zaph wrote: »

They spelled extroverts wrong. :pac:

They spelled it differently: https://www.google.ie/search?q=extraverts&oq=extraverts&aqs=chrome..69i57.638030j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#q=extraverts&nfpr=1

Wibbs

Wibbs wrote: »

Never mind that it's not my job as an adult to be "pointing out errors" in other adults, not unless they're learning a new language and ask for my help. Otherwise it's damned presumptuous.

I know someone who corrects people across the table at a dinner parties. He seems to think he's doing people a favour by appointing himself their teacher. It was mentioned to him, so now he cringingly takes people aside to put them straight on what they've said wrong. I'm sure he'd have a field day with me.

Written errors don't bother me much if I understand what they're trying to say, especially on the likes of Boards. Sometimes it's irritating, but it's easily ignored.

If I get something submitted to me in work littered with errors, that's another issue and harder to overlook. Nobody is perfect all the time, but the context is important. Stupid errors on a CV or essay they've had months to work on doesn't look good.

I'm far from perfect in the punctuation and grammar department myself, I know.

The Randy Riverbeast

What kind of sample size are people expecting? Can hardly put thousands of people through the testing straight away when you dont even know if there will be anything from it.

paleoperson

But the science man said it! It must be true because the science man said it. The science men are smart and know things. Look it says "science direct" so it's science and therefore must be right, seeeeeee!

paleoperson

paleoperson wrote: »

But the science man said it! It must be true because the science man said it. The science men are smart and know things. Look it says "science direct" so it's science and therefore must be right, seeeeeee!

Take a homeopathic remedy or something and calm down.

lawlolawl

Yeah, that mechanical turk thing is garbage and is about as accurate as any random online poll.

I looked into earning money from it and you get offered like 2c US for lots of the surveys and the few guides i could find about making money on it basically consisted of "Do as many surveys as possible as quickly as possible".

SCIENCE!

Capt'n Midnight

The Randy Riverbeast wrote: »

What kind of sample size are people expecting? Can hardly put thousands of people through the testing straight away when you dont even know if there will be anything from it.

83.

They'd signed up to Mechanical Turk and were paid a dollar each so presumably left hand edge of the bell curve.

The IP addresses were from the US-ish and respondents were "native english language" so given the US minimum wage you are still talking left hand edge and minimum time/effort on task.



I hadn't realised that Mechanical Turk rates were so low, must sign some of them up to beat captcha

Nah. I'll just keep sending the emails, "please enter the code below to claim your prise"

The Randy Riverbeast

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

83.

They'd signed up to Mechanical Turk and were paid a dollar each so presumably left hand edge of the bell curve.

The IP addresses were from the US-ish and respondents were "native english language" so given the US minimum wage you are still talking left hand edge and minimum time/effort on task.



I hadn't realised that Mechanical Turk rates were so low, must sign some of them up to beat captcha

Nah. I'll just keep sending the emails, "please enter the code below to claim your prise"

That would be fair criticism of the research and I would agree with it. On the other hand we have

paleoperson wrote: »

But the science man said it! It must be true because the science man said it. The science men are smart and know things. Look it says "science direct" so it's science and therefore must be right, seeeeeee!

Just tell them you have genuine concerns and in your opinion they are just wrong (dont actually attempt to use facts, you are at risk of catching science), maybe throw in an anecdote about a grammar nazi who is a nice person. No amount of research can make your baseless opinion wrong.

Samaris

It is science, it's looking at a hypothesis and testing it against reality. Okay, 83 participants doesn't sound like much but it depends on the type of experiment being run. For this particular study, it sounds fairly reasonable to me, although I wouldn't be that interested in the topic.

It does sound rather like he was struck by a bolt from the bleeding obvious though.

BorneTobyWilde

LexieOnRale wrote: »

That's not true. I'm outstanding at grammar and spelling, and always use punctuation and I'm an absolute delight

No full stop.
Shame on you.

steddyeddy

I posted the article slightly tongue in cheek but the sentiment remains the same: I think people who belittle other people's mistakes or lack of grammatical knowledge are d1cks. Whatever their motivations. If they think they're helping people by publically correcting someone on their grammar then they're socially inept. If they get that annoyed by someone on a message board say that they have to criticise their grammar then they have other problems.