“Converging evidence indicates that blirtatiousness
is unique in its ability to amplify people’s qualities, making these
qualities more readily observable to perceivers.”
Blirtatiousness in this case means the propensity to blurt*
– bearing in mind that : “For some people, no sooner do thoughts come
to mind than they fly out of their mouth.” One of the very few formal
scientific studies to look at the psychological consequences of blurting
was performed in 2001 of the University of Texas at Austin. Authors William B. Swann and Peter J. Rentfrow
not only organised a complex series of experiments to investigate the
effects of various levels of blurting, but also devised the Brief Loquaciousness and Interpersonal Responsiveness Test (BLIRT) to quantify its effects.
The resulting paper, Blirtatiousness: Cognitive, behavioral, and physiological consequences of rapid responding. was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 1160-1175. And can also be read in full here:
BONUS: An online test based on BLIRT is available here : and can (it is alleged) reveal whether you are a blurter or a brooder (and how this might affect your love life).
* This note was written using the more usual spelling of ‘blurt’ - rather than ‘blirt’ which, according to several dictionaries, is a nautical term for a gust of wind and rain.
