By Stephen Beech via SWNS
Politicians use simpler language on hot days, according to a new study.
High temperatures lead to a “significant and immediate” reduction in politicians’ language complexity, say scientists who analyzed words used in seven million parliamentary speeches around the world.
The effect of hot weather was greater on the language of older politicians, according to the findings published in the journal iScience.
Researchers say their findings suggest that rising heat levels may impact the thinking ability of people – including MPs – with “real and immediate” consequences.
The ground-breaking study used automated text analysis combined with global meteorological data to assess the broader impacts of climate change on human health and performance.
Study author Dr. Risto Conte Keivabu, of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Germany, said: “Heat has long been associated with a range of negative health outcomes, including increased risk of decreased productivity and cognitive performance.
“Our study highlights that this phenomenon extends to politicians, who are tasked with critical responsibilities.”
Co-author Dr. Tobias Widmann, Assistant Professor in political science at Aarhus University in Denmark, said: “Specifically, we found that higher temperatures lead to a reduction in the complexity of language used in parliamentary speeches across eight different countries.
“This suggests that heat can negatively affect cognitive functions even in professional settings where precise and complex language is crucial.”
The research team made the discovery by collecting millions of parliamentary speeches.
The collection represents more than 28,000 politicians in eight different countries over several decades.
To analyze connections between the language in those speeches and precise daily temperature and weather, they used a modeling method that leveraged the seemingly random variations in daily temperatures to analyze their impact.
They said that the approach allowed them to isolate the effect of temperature on the complexity of politicians’ language, yielding results that were surprisingly clear.
The findings show that hot days reduce language complexity. But cold days did not have the same effect.
To learn more, they looked more closely at any variable effects in Germany based on age or gender.
Dr. Conte Keivabu said: “One surprising finding was the larger effect size observed in older politicians compared to their younger counterparts in Germany.
“This result not only stands out as interesting on its own but also increases our confidence in the study’s findings.
“It is logical that older individuals might be more susceptible to extreme temperatures, which aligns with our observation and underscores the robustness of our conclusions.”
The researchers say that the findings offer new evidence that human behavior is influenced not only by strategic considerations but also by environmental factors.
Dr. Widmann said: “The simplification of political discourse has mixed implications; while simpler language can enhance public understanding and engagement, it might also signal reduced cognitive performance due to heat.
“This could have negative consequences for the productivity of parliament members, affecting legislative decision-making, citizen representation, and budget planning.”
He added: “Considering the critical role of politicians in democratic processes, the impact of extreme temperatures on their cognitive performance could have profound and far-reaching consequences for society as a whole.”
