Greater attention to causality: Science, technology, education changed the way we talk

ANN ARBOR-As science, education and technology have taken on ever-increasing roles in society during the past two centuries, researchers at the University of Michigan have identified corresponding changes in cognition. Robert Axelrod, U-M professor of public policy and political science, and Rumen Iliev, a former U-M postdoctoral researcher, found an increase in the amount of causal-or cause and effect-language used in western society. The research, published in Psychological Science, builds on previous studies that link cognitive processing to cultural and societal factors. Unlike previous cross-cultural work that compared different cultures at the same point of time, this project was focused on comparing the same culture at different time points. Traditionally, the researchers of culture and cognition have assumed that cross-cultural differences can be traced back to ancient times, yet there has been very little empirical work on the timeline of such changes. "The increased attention to causality in western society isn't surprising given the increasing role of formal schooling, popular science and everyday technology," Axelrod said. "What was surprising was that we were able to empirically verify this hypothesis, even in the absence of direct psychological measures." Axelrod and Iliev used a dictionary of causal language developed by James Pennebaker of the University of Texas to test their hypothesis, which was the increased role of education, science and technology in western societies should be accompanied by greater attention to causal connections.