This research investigates the association between letter case and perception of gender. We propose that referents are judged as more feminine (vs. masculine) when their names are written with lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This effect emerges independent of differences in the size in which the letters appear and cannot be fully explained by differences in angularity. We further identify that evaluations of feminine (vs. masculine) objects become more favorable upon presenting their names in lowercase (vs. uppercase) letters. This association between gender and letter case is more pronounced for referents with a clear gender identity (e.g., fragrances and not vacuums). By first identifying and then exploring consequences of the novel link between letter case and gender, the present investigation contributes to research on linguistics, inference, and conceptual associations while also providing insights as to how to construct communication tools most effectively.

这项研究调查了字母大小写与性别观念之间的关联。我们建议，当引用对象的姓名用小写字母（对比大写字母）书写时，他们被认为是更具女性味（相对于男性）。这种效果的出现与字母出现大小的差异无关，并且无法通过角度差异完全解释。我们进一步确定，对女性（相对于男性）对象的评估在以小写（相对于大写字母）形式显示其名称时变得更加有利。性别和字母大小写之间的这种关联对于具有清晰性别身份（例如，香水而不是吸尘器）的被访者更为明显。通过首先确定字母大小写与性别之间新颖的联系的后果，然后进行探索，本研究为语言学研究做出了贡献，