Yes, There's Now Science Behind Naming Your Baby | Newsroom - 0 views
www8.gsb.columbia.edu/...cience-behind-naming-your-baby
names gender stereotypes phonology female male trends
shared by Lara Cowell on 30 Nov 17
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Lara Cowell on 30 Nov 17Research from Columbia Business School professors Adam Galinsky and Michael Slepian shows that merely saying a name aloud sparks an instant connection to a specific gender, evoking a cascading pattern of stereotypical judgments about the masculinity or femininity of an individual, often in the first second of hearing a spoken name. "Names give cues to social categories, which in turn, activate stereotypes," says Slepian. "By considering how Names symbolically represent stereotypes, we link sounds to social perception. The most basic social category division is gender and the most distinction between phonemes (the sounds that make up words) is voiced versus unvoiced. We found that female and male Names differ phonetically." The Columbia Business School researchers believe that Names become established as for males or females through their spoken sounds. They conducted eleven studies focused on distinguishing the different sounds of spoken Names. The findings provide consistent evidence that voiced Names (those pronounced with vocal cord vibration which often sound "harder") such as "Gregory," "James," and "William" are given more frequently to males, and unvoiced Names (those pronounced without vocal cord vibration which often sound "softer" and breathier) such as "Heather," "Sarah," and "Tiffany" are more frequently given to females. These name assignments fit stereotypical gender categories - men as "hard" and tough, and women as "soft" and tender. The researchers also noted other naming trends, namely 1. A rise in gender-neutral Names. 2. Parents are more likely to give their baby a name that has recently grown in popularity. 3. Parents often give Names that phonetically resemble their social category. 4. Female Names go in and out of style faster than male Names. 5. Current naming inspiration includes social media and technology, celestial themes, and royal birth announcements.