How language and words affect our behavior

What and how we say things can have an effect on ourselves and others. It all depends on the content and the context. Language has enabled humans to survive and thrive. We have been able to communicate with others based solely on the words used. However, those same words can create both tension and love.

Although words can have meaning, it is only the meaning that each person gives it. Change the words in a sentence and they can have a completely different meaning. One word can move someone to action and another word can stop a person in their tracks. Even the words you are reading in this article may have meaning for you; it all depends on how I write it and what you get out of it.

Single words can be given additional meaning by using other words. They eventually form a sentence. The way they are structured within the award gives it meaning in one way or another.

Now here is the trick regarding words and language. Many people tend to say a word as the thing they are referring to. For example, saying the words “Statue of Liberty” since it is the Statue of Liberty. The words are just words and not the thing. It is the same with a map. The map is not the territory. It can be a representation, but not the area it represents.

However, people will get excited when a certain word is mentioned as if it were real. This can affect how we behave. Many advertisers will use words (and language) to affect our behavior so that we buy what they offer. Politicians will use words to have an effect on how we vote. Poets have long used words to connect with us emotionally, as have storytellers. This happens in all languages.

Doing the words we say to ourselves can help or hinder us. What if I tell you to “try to do something” makes you want to take action? But what if I say “will you do something now” is it more powerful? It is the structure of how words are used that can influence their behavior.

Now if I say the word “dog” to you, what does it mean to you? You can think of a fond memory of a family dog ​​that you had as a child. Another person may have a frightening memory of being mauled by a dog. It is the same word with different meanings for different people. Think about these words and what meaning you would give them: Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Green Party, and Socialist Party. What about California, Alabama, New York, Kansas, Montana, Texas, and Washington DC?

What if you changed a sentence and said, “Dog bites man.” What meaning does that convey to you? How about I say “Man bites dog”? Does it change things even if the same words were used?

As you can see, each will have a different meaning to different people. Each one can even cause a change of behavior in each person. However, they are just words, aren’t they? The only meaning they have is the one that each one of us gives them. Also, the way the award is structured will give the words a different meaning.

Look at the words you use in your own life. What meaning are you giving them? What emotions provoke you? Do they create any behavior in you? If you were to think rationally about this, then you would know words for what they are, just words. You are the meaning and resulting behavior of the words, not the words themselves. Language and words can have a profound effect on our behavior as long as we don’t know the reality behind them.