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<p>This study explores how social status influences the processing and comprehension of euphemisms in language. Using an eye-tracking experiment, we manipulated the social status of the speaker and recipient, examining participants’ reading behavior as they encountered euphemisms or literal language in dialogues. All participants recruited for this study were university students.Results showed that when low-status speakers used euphemisms, readers exhibited increased cognitive effort, as evidenced by longer fixation durations, higher fixation counts, and extended regression path durations. In contrast, high-status speakers did not induce significant differences in reading patterns between euphemistic and literal expressions. These findings suggest that social status plays a crucial role in shaping expectations about language use, with low-status speakers expected to use more direct language. Furthermore, we employed decoding analyses using a fully connected neural network to confirm that eye movement patterns could distinguish between high- and low-status contexts, underscoring the broader cognitive implications of social context on language comprehension. This research contributes to understanding the intersection of social cognition and pragmatics, highlighting the influence of social hierarchies in non-literal language processing.</p>

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The role of social status on the reading and comprehension of euphemisms: an eye-tracking study role of social status on the reading and comprehension of euphemisms

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月21日

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  • Shu Peng,
  • Tulips Yiwen Wang,
  • Ziqian Ma

摘要

This study explores how social status influences the processing and comprehension of euphemisms in language. Using an eye-tracking experiment, we manipulated the social status of the speaker and recipient, examining participants’ reading behavior as they encountered euphemisms or literal language in dialogues. All participants recruited for this study were university students.Results showed that when low-status speakers used euphemisms, readers exhibited increased cognitive effort, as evidenced by longer fixation durations, higher fixation counts, and extended regression path durations. In contrast, high-status speakers did not induce significant differences in reading patterns between euphemistic and literal expressions. These findings suggest that social status plays a crucial role in shaping expectations about language use, with low-status speakers expected to use more direct language. Furthermore, we employed decoding analyses using a fully connected neural network to confirm that eye movement patterns could distinguish between high- and low-status contexts, underscoring the broader cognitive implications of social context on language comprehension. This research contributes to understanding the intersection of social cognition and pragmatics, highlighting the influence of social hierarchies in non-literal language processing.