Maybe Trump Knows What He's Doing with his Talk of 'Illegals' and 'Muggers' and 'Rapists'? Nah

Now, I'm not one to always mind when people are politically incorrect but there are times when I find it, well, a little abhorrent.

Does using the term "fat" come to mind when it's better to say, "overweight" or maybe, "pleasingly plump?"  Though I do admit that, with the shows about the people 600 pounds and over, it might be a little incorrect to call them chunky.

In any event, a new study says that using politically incorrect speech brings some benefits: It’s a powerful way to appear authentic, according to newswise.com. 

I guess that's some of the "charm" (yes, I'm being politically correct) of the president.  When he calls immgrants "illegals," and neo-Nazis some "fine people," many of his supporters says he's just being authentic.

But there's authentic and then there's just plain spitefulness, at least to my way of thinking.  But some experts disagree..

“The cost of political incorrectness is that the speaker seems less warm, but they also appear less strategic and more ‘real,’” says Asst. Prof. Juliana Schroeder, co-author of the paper, which includes nine experiments with almost 5,000 people and is forthcoming in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, at the web site. “The result may be that people may feel less hesitant in following politically incorrect leaders because they appear more committed to their beliefs.”

"Although politically correct speech is more often defended by liberals and derided by conservatives, the researchers also found there’s nothing inherently partisan about the concept. In fact, conservatives are just as likely to be offended by politically incorrect speech when it’s used to describe groups they care about, such as evangelicals or poor whites," notes newswise.

“Political incorrectness is frequently applied toward groups that liberals tend to feel more sympathy towards, such as immigrants or LGBTQ individuals, so liberals tend to view it negatively and conservatives tend to think it’s authentic,” says Berkeley Haas PhD candidate Michael Rosenblum, the lead author of the paper (the third co-author is Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School). “But we found that the opposite can be true when such language is applied to groups that conservatives feel sympathy for—like using words such as ‘bible thumper’ or ‘redneck’.”

In one field experiment, the researchers found that using politically correct language gives the illusion that the speaker can be more easily influenced, newswise reports. They asked 500 pre-screened pairs of people to have an online debate on a topic they disagreed on: funding for historically black churches. (The topic was selected because it had a roughly 50/50 split for and against in a pilot survey; no significant difference in support and opposition across political ideology; and involved both a racial minority and religious beliefs.) Before the conversation, one partner was instructed to either use politically correct or incorrect language in making their points.

Afterwards, people believed they had better persuaded the politically correct partners than the politically incorrect partners. Their partners, however, reported being equally persuaded, whether they were using PC or politically incorrect language. “There was a perception that PC speakers were more persuadable, though in reality they weren’t,” Rosenblum said.

"Although President Trump’s wildly politically incorrect statements seem to make him more popular in certain circles, copycat politicians should take heed. The researchers found that politically incorrect statements make a person appear significantly colder, and because they appear more convinced of their beliefs, they may also appear less willing to engage in crucial political dialogue," the web site states..