Recently, Associate Professor Ma Chao from the Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, as the corresponding author, published a paper titled "Behavioral consequences of second-person pronouns in written communications between authors and reviewers of scientific papers" in the journal "Nature Communications," a subsidiary of Nature.
Paper Introduction
Whether the manner of speaking can subtly affect people's behavior or attitude has always been a fascinating topic in fields such as behavioral economics. In recent years, an increasing number of researchers have focused on the effects of using second-person pronouns such as you, your, and yours, but few studies have been conducted in scenarios of interaction (especially where the parties are not closely related).
This study, set against the backdrop of the peer review process of scientific papers, reveals the behavioral and psychological impacts of second-person pronouns in interactive written communications by scraping peer review texts (including review comments and authors' responses to review comments) published in the journal "Nature Communications" between 2016 and 2021. The findings indicate that authors who pose questions to reviewers using second-person pronouns receive fewer questions, shorter answers, and more positive feedback. Further analysis suggests that this shift during the review process is due to the use of second-person pronouns creating a more personalized and engaging dialogue.
This research can offer insights to a broader audience: for instance, businesses looking to close the gap with customers in the market, or grassroots leaders wishing to convey policy information to residents in a more approachable manner might consider using second-person pronouns more frequently.
Link to the original paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44515-1
Author Introduction
Ma Chao is an Associate Professor and Ph.D. supervisor in the Department of Economics at the School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, and a "Zhi Shan Young Scholar" at Southeast University. In the past year, Professor Ma Chao's series of research studies have been published in authoritative journals in the field of economics and management, including "Management World," "Nankai Economic Research," "Economic Inquiry," "Research Policy," and "Journal of Informetrics."
Translated by: Li Zhaoting
Reviewed by: Tang Feng
