#14: I heard you

Adding an extra dose of behavioral science to your week with our series In a Nutshell— a collection of behavioral science principles, explained in 150 words or less, written weekly by CUBIC director Allison Zelkowitz.

Think about where you live – which accents are “desirable,” and which are not?

Professor John Baugh explains in an enlightening Ted Talk that how people speak can lead to linguistic profiling: when someone is denied access to available goods or services by phone, sight unseen, based exclusively on the sound of their voice.

Baugh conducted pioneering research in California, calling hundreds of landlords to schedule rental apartment viewings.  Using his linguistic dexterity, he varied his accent, using African American English, Chicano English, and Standard American English.  As expected, he secured more appointments when he used the latter accent, and overall, wealthier communities demonstrated greater discrimination.

 According to Baugh, who has conducted research in Brazil, the Caribbean, South Africa, France, and the UK, linguistic profiling is a global problem, “If you’re willing to accept others whose linguistic backgrounds are substantially different than your own, that is how this problem gets solved.”