Alix Spiegel explored it with psychologist James Pennebaker:
He says that by analyzing language you can easily tell who among two people has power in a relationship, and their relative social status. "It's amazingly simple," Pennebaker says, "Listen to the relative use of the word "I." What you find is completely different from what most people would think. The person with the higher status uses the word "I" less.
Why:
We use "I" more when we talk to someone with power because we're more self-conscious. We are focused on ourselves – how we're coming across – and our language reflects that.
You can put it to the test.
The Dish 