Language style and sex bias in the courtroom: The effects of male and female use of hedges and intensifiers on impression information

Abstract

Recent work on legal communication has emphasized the importance of language style in forming impressions of witnesses and defendants. This study looked at two aspects of linguistic style which have been associated with legal communication—hedges and intensifies. This study also investigated whether the sex of the subject and the sex of the witness were related to subjects’ evaluations of a person's credibility, attractiveness, and blameworthiness. The results revealed that the sex of the witness was related to subjects’ evaluations of his/her credibility and attractiveness when using hedges and when using intensifies. The sex of the subject did not produce any significant effects. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for sex differences in the courtroom.