Linguistic device creates resonance between people, ideas: study

CHICAGO, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A study by researchers at University of Michigan (UM) showed that a linguistic device, the use of "you" generically to make an idea seem more universal, has a hand in making ideas resonate.

While reading a novel on her Kindle, UM professor of psychology and linguistics Susan Gelman began to notice many of the passages that other readers had spontaneously highlighted used generic-you, and wondered if this was coincidence or representative of a systematic pattern.