James Pennebaker is the Liberal Arts Regents Centennial of Psychology.
AUSTIN, Texas - Through the use of text-analysis software, University of Texas at Austin psychology researchers have identified William Shakespeare as the author of the long-contested play "Double Falsehood," as described this week in the journal Psychological Science . Questioning the authorship of the works of famous writers has always been a form of blood sport in the humanities, said James Pennebaker, the Liberal Arts Regents Centennial Professor of Psychology at the university and co-author of the study. Until recently, he said, social scientists only watched the battles from the sidelines, but no more. "In the last few years, a new array of language analysis tools have surfaced that allow us to identify the personality and identity of authors through their use of some of the smallest and most insignificant words in English," Pennebaker said. Lewis Theobald published "Double Falsehood" in 1728, claiming to have based the play on three original Shakespeare manuscripts - works that were presumably destroyed in a library fire. Scholars have disputed the original authorship ever since. "I've always held huge admiration for scholars who grapple with literature.
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