Evaluations of personality traits and employment suitability based on various australian accents

Abstract

Two studies are described which suggest that the reactions and evaluations of Australian subjects to Australian accents are of importance in social interaction. In the first study subjects were asked to evaluate three taped voices on personality traits classified as competence, social and physical traits. The matched-guise technique was used to produce the tapes which contained a factually neutral passage in Educated Australian, Broad Australian and Italian Australian accents. Subjects varied on the dimensions of sex and education; technical college and university students participated. Clear and significant evaluations were made of the three accents. The results were in broad agreement with previous studies with an interesting exception of possible but unknown importance. Australian subjects ascribed more integrity to the owner of the Educated accent than would have been predicted from overseas studies. The most important subject variable was education. In the second study middle-class and middle-aged subjects were asked to rate the suitability of Educated and Broad Australian accents for two types of training programme; professional and semi-skilled. The subjects were proprietors of small business enterprises and residents of a Newcastle suburb. They were asked to listen to a potential applicant who described himself in general terms. Again the matched-guise technique was used and the identical information was presented to all subjects. Reactions to the Broad Australian accent were unequivocal, the owner was regarded as significantly more suitable for the semi-skilled programme. Differences between employers and residents emerged in the evaluation of the Educated accent. While the employers regarded the owner of the Educated accent as being equally suitable for both programmes, the residents rated the Educated accent as being less suitable for the low-status programme.