Stylistic concomitants of persuasion in conversations

Abstract

This study focused on differences in verbal style between persuasive conversation and nonpersuasive conversation. It was predicted that verbal choices in the persuasive setting would show reduced diversity and increased qualification. “Diversity” was operationalized with the type‐token ratio (TTR) and mean word length (MWL). “Qualification” was operationalized with the noun‐verb/adjective‐adverb (NVIAA) ratio and the verb/auxiliary verb (VAV) ratio. Significant TTR and directional MWL results were consistent with the prediction of decreased diversity. Significant VAV ratio results supported the prediction of increased modification. Directional NV/AA ratio were not consistent with predictions but were interpreted as indicating that subjects achieved qualification in a lexically restricted way.