@cite{beltrama-solt-burnett-2023} #
Context, precision, and social perception: A sociopragmatic study. Language in Society 52(5): 805–835. doi:10.1017/S0047404522000240
Two experiments (Exp 1: N=72 within-subjects; Exp 2: N=400 between-subjects) examining how numeral precision affects social perception across three PCA-derived evaluation dimensions and four communicative scenarios.
Core contributions #
Three-way variant contrast: Distinguishes precise ("forty-nine"), underspecified ("fifty"), and explicitly approximate ("about fifty") — extending prior work that only compared sharp vs. round numbers.
Core indexical ordering (robust across both experiments):
- Competence/Status: precise ≥ underspecified > approximate
- Warmth/Solidarity: approximate ≥ underspecified > precise
- Anti-Solidarity: precise > underspecified ≈ approximate
Underspecified as diagnostic (§General Discussion, p. 827–828): bare round numbers don't uniformly pattern with either endpoint. On competence, underspecified hugs precise; on anti-solidarity, it hugs approximate; on warmth, it is genuinely intermediate. This reveals precision and approximation as independent indexical loci.
Context modulation: high-precision-demand scenarios (For-the-record, Persuasion) amplify competence contrasts; low-demand scenarios (Bonding, Stranger) amplify warmth/solidarity contrasts.
Fragment connections #
Stimuli use numerals 49 (precise) and 50 (round), with "about" as the tolerance modifier:
Core.Roundness.roundnessScore: 49 → 0, 50 → 4Semantics.Lexical.Numeral.Precision.inferPrecisionMode: 49 →.exact, 50 →.approximateFragments.English.NumeralModifiers.about: tolerance modifier
The three precision variants for numeral use (BSB2022 §3).
Extends the two-way distinction (exact/approximate) in @cite{beltrama-schwarz-2024} by factoring out bare round numerals as a third, diagnostically crucial category.
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The precise stimulus numeral (sharp, non-round).
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The round stimulus numeral (used bare or with "about").
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49 has zero roundness — no imprecise reading is possible.
50 has moderate roundness (score 4) — imprecise readings available.
49 → exact precision mode (roundnessScore 0 < 2).
50 → approximate precision mode (roundnessScore 4 ≥ 2).
The Fragment entry "about" is a tolerance modifier that forces an approximate reading and conveys a peaked distribution shape.
Classify a numeral into a variant based on roundness and modifier presence.
End-to-end derivation chain: Fragment modifier type + Core.Roundness score → Variant.
- Non-round (score < 2):
.preciseregardless of modifier - Round + no modifier:
.underspecified(imprecision available, not forced) - Round + tolerance modifier:
.approximate(imprecision forced)
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"forty-nine minutes" → precise variant.
"fifty minutes" (bare) → underspecified variant.
"about fifty minutes" → approximate variant.
Experiment 1 (within-subjects, N=72) cell means.
PCA factor scores mapped to SocialDimension:
Status → .competence, Solidarity → .warmth,
Anti-Solidarity → .antiSolidarity.
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- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.exp1Mean Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Variant.precise Sociolinguistics.SCM.SocialDimension.warmth = 437 / 100
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Experiment 2 (between-subjects, N=400) cell means.
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- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.exp2Mean Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Variant.precise Sociolinguistics.SCM.SocialDimension.warmth = 415 / 100
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Competence: precise > approximate (both experiments).
Speakers using sharp numbers are perceived as more articulate, intelligent, confident, and trustworthy than those using explicitly approximate numbers. Exp 1: 5.01 > 4.84; Exp 2: 5.16 > 4.90.
Warmth: approximate > precise (both experiments).
Speakers using "about fifty" are perceived as friendlier, cooler, more laid-back, and more likeable than those using "forty-nine." Exp 1: 4.58 > 4.37; Exp 2: 4.84 > 4.15.
Anti-Solidarity: precise > approximate (both experiments).
Speakers using sharp numbers are perceived as more pedantic and uptight. Exp 1: 4.37 > 4.10; Exp 2: 3.85 > 3.49.
Sign alignment: competence and anti-solidarity share sign direction (both favor precise), while warmth reverses (favors approximate).
This is the core sign structure of the precision indexical field. It is
consistent with the precisionField associations in @cite{beltrama-schwarz-2024}, where .exact →.competence = +1, .exact →.warmth = −1,
and .exact →.antiSolidarity = +1.
The three-way indexical field for numeral precision (BSB2022).
Association values are idealized signs (±1) matching the empirical ordering from §5. The underspecified variant gets 0 (neutral) — the diagnostic theorem (§7) shows its empirical position varies by dimension.
The precise/approximate cells have the same signs as @cite{beltrama-schwarz-2024}'s
precisionField on all three social dimensions.
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Precise and approximate have algebraically opposite associations on
every dimension — the same anti-symmetry as @cite{beltrama-schwarz-2024}'s opposite_directions.
Underspecified diagnostic (BSB2022's deepest contribution, p. 827–828).
On each dimension, the underspecified variant does not sit uniformly between precise and approximate. Its proximity to each endpoint varies by dimension, revealing precision and approximation as independent indexical loci.
The interpretation (p. 827): when underspecified clusters with precise and away from approximate, the contrast is approximation-driven (it is approximation that downgrades the trait). When underspecified clusters with approximate and away from precise, the contrast is precision-driven (it is precision that upgrades the trait).
On competence, underspecified is closer to precise than to approximate. The contrast is approximation-driven: it is "about" that downgrades Status, not sharp numbers that upgrade it. Exp 1: |5.01−4.96| = 0.05 < |4.96−4.84| = 0.12. Exp 2: |5.16−5.06| = 0.10 < |5.06−4.90| = 0.16.
On anti-solidarity, underspecified is closer to approximate than to precise. The contrast is precision-driven: it is sharp numbers that make you seem pedantic, not "about" that makes you seem relaxed. Exp 1: |4.19−4.10| = 0.09 < |4.37−4.19| = 0.18. Exp 2: |3.59−3.49| = 0.10 < |3.85−3.59| = 0.26.
On warmth, underspecified is genuinely intermediate: it falls strictly between precise and approximate in both experiments. Both precision and approximation contribute independently to the Solidarity contrast, pulling underspecified in opposite directions.
Diagnostic asymmetry: the dimension on which underspecified is closest to each endpoint differs. On competence, the cluster gap (precise to underspecified) is smaller than the outlier gap; on anti-solidarity, the reverse. This crossover is what makes underspecified diagnostic.
Formalized as: the ratio of within-cluster to between-cluster gap reverses between competence and anti-solidarity.
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Precision demand level of a communicative scenario.
- high : PrecisionDemand
- low : PrecisionDemand
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- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Scenario.forTheRecord.precisionDemand = Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.PrecisionDemand.high
- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Scenario.persuasion.precisionDemand = Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.PrecisionDemand.high
- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Scenario.stranger.precisionDemand = Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.PrecisionDemand.low
- Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.Scenario.bonding.precisionDemand = Phenomena.Imprecision.Studies.BeltramaSoltBurnett2022.PrecisionDemand.low
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Exp 1 scenario-specific means on competence (Status). For-the-record vs Bonding, precise vs approximate.
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Context amplifies competence contrast in high-demand scenarios.
Exp 1, Status: In For-the-record (high demand), precise is rated 0.39 points above approximate. In Bonding (low demand), the gap vanishes (−0.02). The Status advantage of precision is contextually relevant only when descriptive accuracy matters (BSB2022 p. 830).
In Bonding, the competence contrast is neutralized: approximate ≥ precise.
Exp 2 scenario-specific means on warmth (Solidarity). Stranger vs For-the-record, precise vs underspecified (the significant interaction from Table 4 row 9 re-leveled, p. 823).
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Context amplifies warmth contrast in low-demand scenarios.
Exp 2, Solidarity: In Stranger (low demand), underspecified is rated 0.44 points above precise. In For-the-record (high demand), the gap vanishes (0.01). When precision is communicatively irrelevant, the Solidarity penalty of sharp numbers becomes salient (BSB2022 p. 826).
Bidirectional context modulation: high-demand contexts amplify competence contrasts while suppressing warmth contrasts, and vice versa.
This crossover interaction between precision demand and social dimension
composes Scenario.precisionDemand with the dimension-specific indexical
field: which region of the field is activated depends on the communicative
situation.
Non-round numerals collapse the three-way distinction to a single variant:
.precise. There is nothing for social perception to modulate.
Round numerals support the full three-way contrast: bare → underspecified, modified → approximate.