al. 1991). Another method is to split up the listeners into two groups and have each group listen to only a single guise, in which case it becomes necessary to include identical filler material to see if the two groups rate identical passages similarly (Stefanowitsch 2005). (Non-)existent stereotypes Gardner and Lambert (1972) point out some of the limitations of his method: i) There is some uncertainty whether the attitude measurements that emerge are really what interviewees believe or what they think they should express in public about their opinions; ii) There is a possibility the recording encourages the use of stereotypes, which produces other associations reflected in the data obtained. The experimental nature of the technique Another aspect of this technique with negative connotations are its experimental features: the matched guise technique is usually used with groups in classrooms or laboratories and has thus been qualified as artificial or not very 'natural'; Robinson (1978) also believes that experimental situations, by their nature, force individuals to provide an answer. Moreover, the use of oral stimulus material created for the experiment has increased skepticism about obtaining significant results with this technique (Tajfel, 1962; Lee, 1971; Robinson, 1972). Lee (1971) even suggests that repeating the message can mean that 'judges' focus on the linguistic features of the varieties used more than they would in a normal and unconditioned situation. The monostylistic presupposition of the varieties used Moreover, this technique presupposes that the linguistic varieties evaluated have only one functional style (Agheyisi & Fishman, 1970). Thus, it is unable to explain the social meaning of speakers' multistylistic capacity in different contexts or degrees of knowledge of the linguistic varieties evaluated. However, efforts have been made to improve the matched-guise test to cater for this (Howard & Bourhis 1976). See also Diglossia Linguistics Sociolinguistics Bibliography Agheyisi, R., & Fishman, J. A. (1970). Language attitude studies: A brief survey of methodological approaches. Anthropological Linguistics, 12(5), 137–157. Davies, A., & Elder, C. (Eds.). (2004). The handbook of applied linguistics. Malden, MA: Blackwell. Downes, W. (1998). Language and society (2nd ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Gardner, R. G., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in a second-language learning. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. Lee, R. R. (1971). Dialect perception: A critical review and re-evaluation. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 57(4), 410–417. Robinson, W. P. (1978). Lenguaje y conducta social. Mexico: Trillas. Stefanowitsch, A. (2005). Empirical methods