Imagery, Emotion, and Cause and Effect in Presidential Language
| DOI | 10.1177/019251218700800202 |
| Date | 01 April 1987 |
| Author | William Kitchin |
| Published date | 01 April 1987 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
111
Imagery,
Emotion,
and
Cause
and
Effect
in
Presidential
Language
WILLIAM
KITCHIN
ABSTRACT.
The
language
of
Presidents
Reagan,
Nixon,
and
Kennedy
is
examined
for
imagery,
emotional,
and
cause-and-effect
linguistics.
Imagery
and
emotion
are
associated
with
the
right
hemisphere
of
the
brain,
and
cause-and-effect
language
is
associated
with
the
left.
Reagan’s
language
is
relatively
high
on
imagery,
slightly
high
on
negative
emotion,
and
low
on
cause
and
effect.
Nixon’s
language
is
similar
to
Reagan’s
but
generally
lower
in
emotion.
Kennedy’s
language
profile
is
quite
different
from
that
of
the
other
two
Presidents,
in
that
Kennedy
is
high
on
cause-and-effect
language,
low
on
imagery,
and
relatively
high
on
positive
emotion.
The
language
one
uses
is
normally
assumed
to
be
a
useful
indicator
not
only
of
what
one
thinks
but
also
of
how
one
thinks.
In
the
political
world,
while
one’s
thoughts
are
sometimes
obtuse
and
often
camouflaged
in
marketable
rhetoric,
the
rhetoric
chosen
to
serve
as
the
carrier
of
the
message
still
indicates
the
patterning
of
thought
underlying
the
message.
Words,
therefore,
do
not
merely
carry
the
message;
they
also
tell
us
about
the
crafter
of
the
message.
In
this
article
I
set
forth
findings
on
the
use
of
imagery,
emotion,
and
cause-and-effect
language
of
Presidents
Reagan,
Nixon,
and
Kennedy.
A
computer
analysis
of
the
language
used
in
four
press
conferences
by
each
President
shows
that
the
three
differ
in
their
language
use.
Neurolinguistic
research
and
research
concerning
the
asymmetrical
performance
of
the
two
hemispheres
of
the
human
brain
provide
a
conceptual
framework
within
which
to
understand
what
one’s
language
signals
about
how
one
thinks.
The
Two
Hemispheres
of
the
Brain
and
Specific
Words
Each
hemisphere
of
the
brain
has
its
own
cognitive
style,
and
that
style
is
reflected
in
the
language
associated
with
that
hemisphere.
Thus,
we
can
now
specify
that
certain
words
appear
to
trigger
more
right
brain
activity
than
others.
Though
the
research
findings
in
this
area
are
not
yet
conclusive,
they
do
suggest
that the
traditional
assumption
that
the
left
hemisphere
is
the
language
hemisphere
(at
least
for
right-handed
males)
is
too
broad.
Though
most
language
is
processed
by
the
left
hemisphere,
the
right
hemisphere
is
also
integrally
involved
both
in
comprehending
and
in
initiating
certain
types
of
language
(passim:
Segalowitz
and
Gruber,
1977;
Bryden,
1982;
Perecman,
1983;
Young,
1983).
To continue reading
Request your trial