258 Chapter 7
in studies of group interactions. According to
social role theory, men’s communication is
a function of their instrumental orientation,
and women’s communication is a function of
their expressive orientation. Support for this
theory comes largely from studies showing
that nonverbal differences between men and
women persist across situations, including
different statuses.
There are two primary explanations
for sex differences in communication: status
and social role. According to status theory,
men’s communication is a function of their
higher status, and women’s communication is
a function of their lower status. A number of
compelling studies show that men and women
behave the same when status is held constant.
Evidence for status theory is especially strong
- Compare laboratory and field
research on sex differences in
communication. In which
areas of communication do
you expect laboratory research
and field research to come to
different conclusions? - Discuss girls’ and boys’ different
play styles and explanations of their
origins. - From what you have learned in this
chapter, in what ways do you expect
girls’ and boys’ online behavior to be
similar? To be different? - What are some of the factors that af-
fect men’s and women’s interaction
styles? - What are some of the moderator
variables of sex comparisons in
language?
6. Which sex differences in language and
nonverbal behavior are best explained
by status theory, and which are best
explained by social role theory? - Imagine you are studying patient–
physician communication. What
other variables would be impor-
tant to know besides the sex of the
participants? - Why are women more easily influ-
enced than men? Is this an advan-
tage or a disadvantage for women? - What is the best leadership style
for women to adopt? Under what
circumstances? - How would you determine whether
men or women are more emotional? - What are the implications of the dif-
ferent attributions people make for
women’s and men’s emotions?
Discussion Questions
Brody, L. R., & Hall, J. A. (2008). Gender
and emotion in context. In M. Lewis,
J. M. Haviland, & L. Barrett (Eds.),
Handbook of emotions. New York:
Guildford Press.
Dindia, K., & Canary, D. J. (2006) (Eds.).
Sex differences and similarities in com-
munication: Critical essays and empirical
investigations of sex and gender in interac-
tion (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Suggested Reading
M07_HELG0185_04_SE_C07.indd 258 6/21/11 8:11 AM