This article is part of the special issue: Psch of Conversation from the journal, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, and is available for purchase.

Jargon is commonly used to efficiently communicate and signal group membership. The authors propose that jargon use also serves a status compensation function.

Nine studies, including experiments and archival data analyses, test whether low status increases jargon use. Analyses of 64,000 dissertations found that titles produced by authors from lower-status schools included more jargon than titles from higher-status school authors.

Experimental manipulations established that low status causally increases jargon use, even in live conversations. Statistical mediation and experimental-causal-chain analyses demonstrated that the low status → jargon effect is driven by increased concern with audience evaluations over conversational clarity.

Additional archival and experimental evidence found that acronyms and legalese serve a similar status-compensation function as other forms of jargon (e.g., complex language).

Compensatory conspicuous communication: Low status increases jargon use