Slashdot Mirror


Study Says People Who Continually Point Out Typos Are 'Jerks'

HughPickens.com writes: Sophie Kleeman, writes at Gizmodo that according to a study at the University of Michigan people who are more sensitive to written typos and grammatical errors are indeed the kinds of 'Type A assholes' everyone already suspects them to be. Researchers gathered 83 people and had them read emails that either contained typos ("mkae" or "abuot"), grammar errors (to/too, it's/its or your/you're), or no spelling mistakes at all. Participants were asked at the end of the experiment whether or not they'd spotted any grammatical errors or typos in the emails, and, if so, how much it had bothered them. The researchers then asked the participants to complete a Big Five personality assessment -- which rates where they are on a scale of openness, agreeableness, extraversion/introversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness -- as well as answer questions about their age, background, and attitude towards language. People who tested as being more conscientious but less open were more sensitive to typos, while those with less agreeable personalities got more upset by grammatical errors. "Less agreeable participants showed more sensitivity to 'grammos' than participants high in agreeability," the researchers said, "perhaps because less agreeable people are less tolerant of deviations from convention."

9 of 642 comments (clear)

  1. Being nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is something stupid people do to hedge their bets

    - Rick

    1. Re:Being nice by LoverOfJoy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is something stupid people do too hedge there bets

      - Rick

      ftfy

    2. Re:Being nice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Is something stupid people do too hedge there bets

      - Dick

      ftfy

    3. Re:Being nice by slew · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hedge there bets, stupid people do sometimes too...
      -Dick

      ftfy (fixed that for yoda)

  2. Totaly agree by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Funny

    Nothing more annoying than someone who cannot handle a simple typo - as the old saying goes, consistant spelling is the hallmark of a weak mind.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Totaly agree by myowntrueself · · Score: 3, Funny

      When the spelling mistake changes the meaning of the sentence it's more worth to point it out. Sometimes a subtle error can get weird or hilarious.

      Like when the Sydney Olympic board press statement wanted to say "We support and endorse youth in Asia" and actually printed "We support and endorse euthanasia"?

      --
      In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
  3. This /. summary the most carefully proofread ever by JoeyRox · · Score: 5, Funny

    For obvious reasons :)

  4. Re:Why yes. Yes they are... by Zak3056 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I knew a guy with colon cancer who ended up in a comma.

    --
    What part of "shall not be infringed" is so hard to understand?
  5. Re:Studies That Point Out What We All Know. by oldmac31310 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Clearly the people who carry out these studies are jerks.

    --
    http://www.acetonestudio.com