Science Quickly The Science of a Convincing Sorry
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Oct 22, 2025 Shiri Lev-Ari, an associate professor of psychology at Royal Holloway, specializes in language and social communication. She dives into what makes apologies resonate as sincere, revealing that longer, clearer language often signals genuine remorse. Lev-Ari discusses fascinating topics like iconicity in language and how word length impacts perceptions of effort in apologies. She also shares insights from her Twitter study, showing that people instinctively use longer words in apology tweets, and reflects on how this might change our view of celebrity apologies.
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Apologies Work By Showing Effort
- Apologies can be cheap talk because anyone can say them without cost.
- People signal sincerity by showing they expend effort when apologizing.
Form Can Signal Meaning In Context
- Iconicity links a word's form to its meaning, like sounds that suggest smallness.
- Lev-Ari explores contextual iconicity: using form to signal effort within apologies.
Traveling Out Of The Way To Apologize
- Lev-Ari describes a student who inconveniences themselves to apologize immediately.
- That costly action clearly signals greater remorse than waiting for the next chance to meet.