The verbal and psychological correlates of disenfranchising talk

Abstract

The theory of communicative (dis)enfranchisement (TCD) outlines that the deprivation of a person’s rights and privileges can be facilitated via disenfranchising talk (DT) from a critical perspective. However, the social and psychological correlates of DT remain unknown. Therefore, to address this gap, across two studies, we conducted computational analyses of language data to supplement the foundational qualitative research using this theory. We extended the TCD by examining the language used by female chronic pain patients (total N = 923) when reporting on negative encounters with their clinicians which is an established context for examining DT. Women who reported more DT described their negative experiences with their clinicians in more words, more emotional terms, and they worked through their disenfranchisement experiences less psychologically than those reporting less DT. These results are the first to examine and extend the TCD computationally and are a foundation for practically decreasing DT.