Using word embeddings to analyse audience effects and individual differences in parenting Subreddits

EPJ Data Science

Regular Article

Michael Quayle¹  Maria Schuld²  Taha Yasseri³  Melody Sepahpour-Fard⁴ 

[1] Centre for Social Issues Research, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland;Department of Psychology, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland;Department of Psychology, School of Applied Human Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa;Department of Psychology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa;School of Sociology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland;Geary Institute for Public Policy, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland;Science Foundation Ireland Centre for Research Training in Foundations of Data Science, Limerick, Ireland;Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland;

关键词: Gender stereotypes;    Parenting;    Audience effects;    Word embeddings;    User embeddings;    Reddit;    Natural language processing;    Computational social science;   

DOI  :  10.1140/epjds/s13688-023-00412-7

 received in 2023-03-17, accepted in 2023-08-21,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

This paper explores how individuals’ language use in gender-specific groups (“mothers” and “fathers”) compares to their interactions when referred to as “parents.” Language adaptation based on the audience is well-documented, yet large-scale studies of naturally-occurring audience effects are rare. To address this, we investigate audience and gender effects in the context of parenting, where gender plays a significant role. We focus on interactions within Reddit, particularly in the parenting Subreddits r/Daddit, r/Mommit, and r/Parenting, which cater to distinct audiences. By analyzing user posts using word embeddings, we measure similarities between user-tokens and word-tokens, also considering differences among high and low self-monitors. Results reveal that in mixed-gender contexts, mothers and fathers exhibit similar behavior in discussing a wide range of topics, while fathers emphasize more on educational and family advice. Single-gender Subreddits see more focused discussions. Mothers in r/Mommit discuss medical care, sleep, potty training, and food, distinguishing themselves. In terms of individual differences, we found that, especially on r/Parenting, high self-monitors tend to conform more to the norms of the Subreddit by discussing more of the topics associated with the Subreddit.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Springer-Verlag GmbH, DE 2023

【 图 表 】

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