Scientists discover that passive voice is, uh, more passive

Dr Idan, a psycholinguist, knew from previous work that the use of an adjective instead of a noun in a sentence (“Jewish” rather than “Jew”, for example) can shape both judgment and behaviour. Likewise, Dr Reifen-Tagar, a social psychologist, knew from her own earlier research that successful diplomacy often hinges on managing anger in negotiating parties. Putting their heads together, they suspected that employing nouns (“I am in favour of the removal of settlers”), rather than verbs (“I am in favour of removing settlers”), to convey support for policy positions would have a calming effect. The one is more like a statement of an abstract belief. The other is more like a prescription of a course of action and is thus, they hypothesised, more likely to arouse emotions.

They chose to use the words "noun" and "adjective" in their report, but they are actually using what we learned in school as active and passive voice. In any event, their results seem intuitive, but it's a helpful message to use words that don't inflame.

Here in the U.S., any attempt to discuss certain subjects is a minefield of political correctness. Maybe the passive voice might help in those arenas, too.