Social stereotypes affect imprecision resolution across different tasks

In two experiments, we investigate how social information about the speaker affects pragmatic reasoning in numeral interpretation. Results from a picture selection task show that comprehenders interpret numerals more precisely when uttered by Nerdy speakers — described as studious, introverted and uptight — as opposed to Chill ones — described as extroverted, sociable, and laid-back (Exp.1). Data from a Truth-Value Judgment task (Exp.2) confirm this pattern: comprehenders exhibit more tolerance towards accepting imprecise statements uttered by Chill speakers than Nerdy ones. These findings highlight the importance of incorporating the interplay of social and descriptive meaning into our understanding of pragmatic reasoning and outline several directions of inquiry to take this enterprise further.