Social psychology and language

A language and social psychology perspective (LSP) emphasizes the critical role that affect, cognitions, and an individual's motivations play in communication behavior. A key premise of this perspective is that interactions between speakers are dynamic psychological processes. Thus, the personal (likes and dislikes, idiosyncrasies) and social (group memberships and professional roles) dimensions that make up an individual are important. To this end an LSP approach highlights that no interaction occurs in isolation but rather each participant brings to it his or her sociohistorical context and associated biases and cultural beliefs. Analysis includes investigations of spoken and written communication, individual's perceptions and attitudes about speech partners as well as objective observations of communication behavior. The areas of interest for LSP scholars is wide ranging and include cross and intercultural communication, gender and sexuality, interdisciplinary and patient health discourse , intergenerational communication, the discourse of dementia, institutional talk, and social media.