Communication 257Summary
Boys and girls clearly have different styles
of interacting with one another. Boys play
in groups that are loud, boisterous, and
hierarchical, whereas girls play in dyads that
are quiet, conversational, and egalitarian.
A strong preference to play with same-sex
peers likely exacerbates the difference in play
styles. The source of the different styles is
not clear. The distinct play styles map onto
the differences in adult interaction styles. In
general, studies of small groups show that
women are more socioemotional and men are
more task oriented. However, these findings
are qualified by a number of variables: the
nature of the task, the sex of the interaction
partner, and the length of the interaction. Sex
differences are strongest for gender-typed
tasks, for interactions with same-sex people,
and when interactions are brief.
Women and men differ in their
use of some features of language. Men’s
language is more instrumental, succinct, and
directive, whereas women’s language is more
affective, elaborative, and indirect. Women’s
language has been described as promoting
relationships but also as being unassertive.
Women’s style of speaking appears to have
negative implications when used by women
but not men. In particular, men like—but
view as less competent—a woman who uses
feminine rather than masculine language.
There are a number of sex differences
in nonverbal behavior: Women smile more,
gaze more, are better at conveying emotion,
and are better at decoding others’ emotions
compared to men. Sex differences in touch
are more complicated. Among children,
touch is more frequent among same-sex
peers than cross-sex peers. Among adults,
touch is more frequent among cross-sex
dyads than same-sex dyads. Within adultcross-sex dyads, touch is determined by
relationship status: Men initiate touch
during the early stages of a relationship, and
women initiate touch during the later stages.
In general, sex differences in nonverbal
behavior are more frequently observed
among same-sex dyads than cross-sex dyads.
Research on social influence generally
shows that men are more influential and
more likely to emerge as leaders than women.
Women are more easily influenced, largely
because people are nicer and more agreeable
to women. Agreement leads to influence,
but disagreement does not. Despite the fact
that men are more likely than women to be
leaders, women leaders are more likely than
men leaders to use the transformational style
of leadership, which has been determined to
be the most effective style.
Women who adopt agentic styles
of leadership are viewed negatively—
especially by men. This bias stems in part
from the inference that agentic women lack
communal characteristics. Women are more
influential and viewed more positively as
leaders when they are perceived to have both
agentic and communal qualities.
In general, men and women seem
to experience emotion similarly, although
women are more emotionally expressive
than men. Sex differences in emotional
expression depend on the specific emotion:
Women are more likely to express sadness,
love, and fear, whereas men are more
likely to express anger and pride. In terms
of physiological reactivity, either men are
more reactive than women or there is no
sex difference in physiological reactivity
to emotion. People attribute women’s
emotional states to internal causes and
men’s emotional states to external factors.M07_HELG0185_04_SE_C07.indd 257 6/21/11 8:11 AM