We examined whether people can accurately judge the experienced power, dominance, and prestige of others based on short texts,
and what linguistic cues are related to these hierarchy-related variables. Past research suggests that personality is reflected in
language, but hierarchy—another important feature in human relationships—has not been fully considered. In two studies with a
zero-acquaintance setting, judges (N1/2 = 105/202) read self-descriptions of speakers (N1/2 = 200/200) and completed peer ratings of
speakers’ power, dominance, and prestige. Speakers completed the same scales as self-ratings. We found substantial associations
between the hierarchy concepts and several word categories (e.g., sense of power was negatively related to tentative words in self-
and peer reports). For power and prestige, judges and speakers used the same linguistic cues for their assessments. Further, judges
converged strongly in their assessments and showed high self-other agreement for all variables. We conclude that social hierarchy
concepts are enacted in language and can be perceived from minimal verbal information. The findings show the importance of
distinguishing between various hierarchy concepts when analyzing language correlates and have implications for testing power
theories with linguistic material and the understanding of perceptions regarding hierarchy differences and following downstream
consequences.