People who are annoyed by bad grammar have an important quality

If you're that person who hovers in the thread, the forum, the post, the article, looking for some horrendous error of spelling or grammar, then you're probably a bit of an introvert.

We're not citing a stereotype - well, not just citing a stereotype - it's been backed up by research.

A 2016 study published in the journal Plos One found that certain personality types were more enraged about grammar errors than others.

The study called If You’re House Is Still Available, Send Me an Email: Personality Influences Reactions to Written Errors in Email Messages, recruited 83 volunteers and asked them to evaluate 12 replied to an online advert for a new housemate.

Some responses contained errors and those who took part in the study were shown one version of each email - either well-written, with spelling errors, or with noticeable grammar errors.

The results showed that both typos and "grammos" (grammar errors) had a negative impact on the likelihood that a respondent would accept the sender of the email as a housemate - and that introverts tended to judge typos more harshly than extroverts.

In addition, less agreeable people were tougher on grammar errors.

Overall people tended to judge typos more harshly than errors in grammar.

The study authors, Julie E. Boland and Robin Queen, said:

The primary contribution of the current study is the finding that personality traits influence our reactions to written errors.

Although personality traits have been linked to variation in production, particularly the use of specific lexical items, this is the first study to show that the personality traits of listeners/readers have an effect on the overall assessment of variable language.

So - spot test - how do you fare in a spelling test?

HT Spring

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