Have you ever had a friend from a certain region of the country or the Earth who had a particular speech accent, which over time was minimzed, but would suddenly come back when the person is angry? Turns out that there is a name for that phenomenon: style-shifting. According to a linguist on NPR’s Weekend Edition, this shifting can take place involuntarily (like what happens when friends from Minnesota get angry) or intentionally (such as when politicians will change their speech to appeal in the moment to certain voters).
The key is that it is all related to impression management. When a person becomes angry he is less able to maintain the face he is presenting to the world, and habits from the past (such as speech patterns) can reappear. Theoretically, this is also why other primitive behaviors (seeking comfort food) and thought patterns (“no one likes me”) reappear when we are under stress. The fascinating part to me is how much of the impression management that we all engage is in outside of our awareness.
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Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 7 Oct 2006
