Names and Culture. Does your name make you who you are or do your parents determine what you...
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Transcript of Names and Culture. Does your name make you who you are or do your parents determine what you...
Names and Culture
Does your name make you who you are or do your parents determine what you become?
What if you were given a foreign sounding name? Will it change others expectations of you?
How do you measure the effect of the name you are given on the outcome of your life?
How much does your name matter?
California Data Set – Birth Certificates 1960s-2000
2 Girls – similar background and SES 1 girl is given traditional name 1 girl is given unique black cultural name
Wait 20 years . . . Outcome?
Researcher: Rollin Friar
Black sounding names 25% more likely to receive an “arrest” ad.
Traditional sounding names received less deviant-associated ads.
Names and Internet Ads on Google
Adwords – Company responsible for ads on Google searches
Who is at fault? Ad company? Google? Society?
Does your name matter?
Names and Internet Ads on Google (cont.)
Are “Emily” and “Craig” more employable than “Andre” and “LeKeisha”?
Names and Job Applications
Audit Studies White sounding names received many more
call backs than black sounding names. However, most jobs are given out based upon
who you know rather than a resume or regular application
A call back doesn’t necessarily = job
Names and Job Applications (cont.)
Your name may not have much of an influence on your life’s outcome; however, your name does tell us a lot about . . . Education Level Social Standing
Names and Parents
Most names start at the top of the income distribution and then trickle down to other income levels
Over 20-30 years, those at the top want to separate themselves from the previously used names.
Names and Parents (cont.)
Conservative High Income – popular names Liberal High Income – more unique names
with obscure cultural messages (Why?) Low income African American mothers
without a high school degree – very unique names Change in spelling Made up words
Liberals, Conservatives, and Names
Liberals Nurturing/feminine sounding names (Ex. Ella) More “l” letters in names More vowel endings (both male and female) Example: Obama girls
Sasha and Alea
Liberals, Conservatives, and Names (cont.)
Conservatives Masculine/Paternalistic Names (Ex. Kurt) Short, consonant-dominated names (both boys
and girls) Example – Palin kids
Piper, Trig, Track, Bristol, Willow?
Liberals, Conservatives, and Names (cont.)
Liberals – 10 Names
Boys
Ethan Dylan Joshua Charlie Lief
Girls
Lola Mia Fia Elliana Ruby
Conservatives – 10 Names
Boys
Andrew Ethan Dylan Caleb Carter
Girls
Kacey McKenzie Jordan Taylor Sarah
Naming is not destiny! Story of “Winner” and “Loser”
Biggest Take-Away
If it’s not names . . . then what is it that makes a difference for individuals? Family SES
Reason for Success?