Self-interest talk tracks the speaker’s perceived lack of power

Evidence

The most obvious clue to interpreting these expressions of self-interest is the unmistakable connection between participants’ expressions of self-interest and their seemingly realistic assessment of their own power. — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 35

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Automatic self-interest talk persists even when volunteers know it misdescribes their motives — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 41; Expressions of narrow self-interest are rhetorical performances rather than literal self-reports — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 3; Power operates partly through perception rather than explicit verbal communication (+3 more)

Related

• Automatic self-interest talk persists even when volunteers know it misdescribes their motives (similarity 0.86)
• Believing public talk is powerless makes volunteers feel powerless. (similarity 0.85)
• Public talk itself, not just outcome interest, creates selves and communities. (similarity 0.78)
• Treating talk as self-display makes audiences dismiss activists as attention-seekers (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Believing public talk is powerless makes volunteers feel powerless. #expands (0.88) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 105
• Automatic self-interest talk persists even when volunteers know it misdescribes their motives #corroborates (0.85) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 41
• Expressions of narrow self-interest are rhetorical performances rather than literal self-reports #expands (0.82) — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”, 3
• People cling to self-interest vocabularies even when they contradict experienced motives #corroborates (0.80)
• Discourse produces knowledge that shapes perceptions and enacts power #qualifies (0.75) — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 687
• Power operates partly through perception rather than explicit verbal communication #qualifies (0.72)