Title
Feasibility of contextual behavioral speech analyses of US presidents: Inaugural addresses of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, 1993–2017
Abstract
We evaluated the feasibility of analyzing data from speeches of United States presidents from a contextual behavioral perspective. Relational frames present in inaugural addresses given by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump from 1993 to 2017 were compared. The greatest between subject variance was observed in their use of coordinative and distinctive relations, with Donald Trump using the largest number of frames of distinction and Barack Obama using the largest number of frames of coordination. Within subject analyses show that the use each type of relation was not equivalent, and the relations most commonly used by each president varied. These data suggest that behavioral scientists can generate meaningful, reliable analyses from publicly available text, and results generated in the present study are discussed in a larger sociopolitical context.
Department(s)
Psychology
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2018.07.002
Keywords
behavioral science, politics, relational frame theory, speech analysis
Publication Date
6-9-2018
Recommended Citation
Belisle, Jordan, Dana Paliliunas, Mark R. Dixon, and Jonathan Tarbox. "Feasibility of contextual behavioral speech analyses of US presidents: Inaugural addresses of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, 1993–2017." Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science 10 (2018): 14-18.
Journal Title
Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science
