Lockdowns hebben tot een hogere mate van depressiviteit geleid onder de bevolking. Ook komt uit onderzoek naar voren dat depressiviteit in taalgebruik terug te vinden is. In dit onderzoek gaan we...Show moreLockdowns hebben tot een hogere mate van depressiviteit geleid onder de bevolking. Ook komt uit onderzoek naar voren dat depressiviteit in taalgebruik terug te vinden is. In dit onderzoek gaan we na of tijdens de eerste lockdown in Engeland het taalgebruik geassocieerd met depressiviteit ook veranderd is. In dit onderzoek zijn brieven die zijn geschreven voor de eerste lockdown (in de periode één januari tot en met 30 april 2019 en één januari tot en met 22 maart 2020) vergeleken met brieven die zijn geschreven tijdens de lockdown (in de periode 23 maart tot en met 30 april 2020; N = 1946). Deze brieven zijn verworven uit de nieuwsbron ‘The Guardian’. Taalgebruik geassocieerd met depressiviteit wordt in de huidige studie opgedeeld in zeven verschillende betekenisvolle woordcategorieën opgesteld door het ‘Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count’. Deze woordcategorieën betreffen ‘eerste persoon enkelvoud’, ‘absoluut taalgebruik’, ‘positieve emoties’, ‘negatieve emoties’, ‘angst’, ‘boosheid’ en ‘verdriet’. De resultaten laten zien dat het taalgebruik geassocieerd met depressiviteit op verschillende woordcategorieën veranderd is. De briefschrijvers gebruiken ten tijde van de lockdown relatief meer woorden geschreven in de eerste persoon enkelvoud, woorden gerelateerd aan angst en marginaal meer woorden gerelateerd aan verdriet. Tevens gebruiken de briefschrijvers tijdens de lockdown relatief minder woorden met een positieve lading en woorden gerelateerd aan boosheid. Er is bij de briefschrijvers geen verandering gevonden in de mate van woordgebruik gerelateerd aan negatieve emoties en absoluut taalgebruik. De data laten dus zien dat er tijdens de lockdown een verandering is opgetreden in taalgebruik. We bediscussiëren dat achter taalgebruik psychologische processen kunnen meespelen en wijzen voorzichtig in de richting dat taalgebruik dit bloot kan leggen. We gaan in op de aard van de levensgebeurtenissen in relatie tot taalgebruik, waarbij we noemen dat vervolgonderzoek hier meer zicht in kan bieden.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic has created another pandemic: one of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). Multiple sources have indicated that there is a relationship between the use...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic has created another pandemic: one of domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence (IPV). Multiple sources have indicated that there is a relationship between the use of certain words and depressive symptoms, for instance the self-awareness theory of depression states that depressed people use more words referring to the self. This study aimed to see if there was a relationship between exposure to DV and depressive symptoms, indicated by word use and to examine the influence of COVID-19 on the use of these words that indicate depressive symptoms. In total 4671 texts from three different subreddits were analysed: one on DV and two control non-DV groups. The outcome variables were: first-person singular pronouns, negation words, negative emotion words, anxiety-related words. Results indicated that victims of DV used more first-person singular words, words related to negative emotions and anxiety-related words and fewer negation words, relative to the control group. The general effect of subreddit on word use was a value of Pillai’s trace of .662. No effect of time or interactions between subreddits and time were found on the use of the word categories. There is potential in the use of textual analysis to detect depressive symptoms and possibly also victimisation of DV.Show less
This article examines whether the speeches given by Donald Trump after his election have become more presidential since his election campaign speeches in 2016. Four speeches, selected from both...Show moreThis article examines whether the speeches given by Donald Trump after his election have become more presidential since his election campaign speeches in 2016. Four speeches, selected from both before and after the 2016 elections, have been analysed and compared in two different ways. The speeches selected from before the elections were Trump’s announcement of his run for the presidency and his acceptance of the Republican nomination. The selection of post-election speeches consisted of the first speech Trump gave to a joint session of congress in his official appearance as president and his first official SOTU address. The first manner of comparison used Pennebaker et al’s (2007) Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) programme. The second manner of comparison analysed the speeches for their differences in their use of rhetorical and stylistic figures. The analysis showed that the speeches given by Trump before his 2016 election were less complex, more divisive and less positive than those given after his election. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the use of stylistic devices in the pre-election speeches was more focused on emphasising problems, whereas post-election they were used more to emphasise achievement and to embellish the speech itself. This suggests that there has been a visible change in style between the two periods, which indicates that Trump’s speeches have become more like those of his predecessors.Show less
Through a comprehensive analysis of the news coverage on the Syrian war by The Guardian, The Washington Post and The New York Times, the role of the media is assessed. The textual analysis was...Show moreThrough a comprehensive analysis of the news coverage on the Syrian war by The Guardian, The Washington Post and The New York Times, the role of the media is assessed. The textual analysis was carried out on almost 5000 articles from the three outlets. It thus explores the possibility of technical tools to analyse the coverage and discourse of the media.Show less
