LIWC Extension

About

Receptiviti’s LIWC Extension framework provides measures focused on understanding communication dynamics and determinants of interpersonal support. These measures are paired to review several opposing forces in communication style. For example, the demonstration of a low or high amount of empathy, or the use of agentic (ambitious) versus communal (caring) language.

These measures are helpful in the analysis of conversational language in a therapeutic scenario, in interviews, as well as in one-way communication such as a job postings or Corporate Social Responsibility reports.

Note: The LIWC Extension framework is made up of dictionary-count measures. For normed versions of agentic and communal, see our Interpersonal Circumplex framework.

{
    "plan_usage": {
      "word_limit": 250000,
      "words_used": 1282,
      "words_remaining": 248718,
      "percent_used": 0.51,
      "start_date": "2021-01-01T00:00:00Z",
      "end_date": "2021-01-31T23:59:59Z"
    },
    "results": [
      {
        "response_id": "f2ef969d-c96b-4adc-b78b-cd3cba8111f8",
        "language": "en",
        "version": "v1.0.0",
        "summary": {
          "word_count": 395,
          "words_per_sentence": 9,
          "sentence_count": 120,
          "six_plus_words": 0.6666666666666666,
          "capitals": 0.043478260869565216,
          "emojis": 0,
          "emoticons": 0,
          "hashtags": 0,
          "urls": 0
        },
        "personality": {...},
        "social_dynamics": {...},
        "drives": {...},
        "cognition": {...},
        "additional_indicators": {...},
        "sallee": {...},
        "liwc": {...},
        "liwc_extension": {
          "low_empathy": 0.23124569855471439,
          "high_empathy": 0.10766995488261834,
          "allure": 0.09191710636996253,
          "absolutist": 0.01735872141928577,
          "action": 0.10178175422497515,
          "inaction": 0.012846983253039687,
          "abstract": 0.346180316586373,
          "concrete": 0.28102775866024315,
          "agency_language": 0.038617419897530016,
          "communion_language": 0.013841095052382044,
          "approach": 0.1571433574307583,
          "avoidance": 0.0572574006377751
      },
    }
  ]
}

Measures

Score	Summary	Examples	High Score Samples w/ Scores
`low_empathy`	Language that reflects social detachment or callousness towards others. Can indicate either impersonal, technical language or rude, insensitive words.	time, thing, IDGAF, loser	I don’t care and don’t have time for other people’s problems. `0.28`
`high_empathy`	Language that indicates concern for others and sympathy. Reflects shared distress and interest in others’ thoughts and feelings.	love, think, help, hospital	I love to help out by volunteering at the children’s hospital. `0.42`
`allure`	A measure derived from advertising that reflects language that is intended to persuade or attract. Includes words that are attention-grabbing and stimulate people's needs and desires.	fast, life, need, perfect, today	40% of business owners feel that the holiday season is make or break for their business. `0.12`
`absolutist`	Language that reflects black-and-white, all-or-nothing thinking. Indicates cognitive rigidity and dislike of ambiguity. Considered a cognitive distortion, or irrational thought process associated with mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression.	always, none, never, everyone	I am always right and never wrong, and no one else’s opinion matters. `0.28`
`action`	Language related to increasing physical or mental activity; aiming to do something or do more. Associated with faster pace of life, keeping busy, and expending energy.	do, make, go, run	On weekday mornings I do push-ups, then go for a run, then make celery juice. `0.31`
`inaction`	Language related to decreasing physical or mental activity; aiming to do nothing or do less. Associated with slower pace of life, restorative goals, and conserving energy.	rest, stop, wait, relax	On weekend mornings, I prefer to rest and relax with my family. `0.16`
`abstract`	Language that reflects nonspecific, amorphous, or big-picture ideas. Indicates a higher level of construal (seeing the forest, not the trees).	spirituality, concept, risky, luck	His calling to study philosophy was a deeply meaningful experience. `0.6`
`concrete`	Language that reflects specific or tangible actions, objects, or traits. Indicates a lower level of construal (seeing the trees, not the forest).	salty, item, person, wooden	There was an antique oak table, and a set of carved chairs with it. `0.28`
`agency_language`	Language that suggests a person is exerting willpower to pursue personal goals. Indicates doing things as an individual for personal motivations or desires.	acquire, choose, goal, need	You need to stay late tonight if you want to earn this promotion. `0.15`
`communion_language`	Language that suggests a person is cooperating and connecting with others to improve social relationships. Indicates they are likely doing things with other people to help meet the group's goals.	family, share, help, talking	We can only help you if you’re willing to share what’s going on. `0.13`
`approach`	Language related to emotions that motivate people to move towards an emotional trigger. For example, love can inspire people to get closer to the object of their affection, and anger can drive people to attack whatever is frustrating them. The opposite of `avoidance` emotions.	furious, funny, awesome, beauty	I was so angry that I stormed to his house and smashed his window with a brick. `0.51`
`avoidance`	Language related to emotions that indicate retreat or avoidance. For example, fear can make people flee or hide, and sadness can lead people to withdraw from the world. The opposite of `approach` emotions.	afraid, sad, boring, ugh, hurt	The movie was so scary that I was hiding from it behind my hands. `0.62`

Specifications

All LIWC Extension measures will range between 0 and 1. 0 implies that a word within a category was not mentioned, and anything above zero indicates that a word in that category was mentioned. The associated score reflects the ratio of that word to the total number of words in the submitted text sample.

Note: Results will be most reliable when your text sample is greater than 350 words in length.

LIWC

Social Dynamics