Chapter 8 Flashcards
how do male and female writers use language differently according to computers?
women tend to use more question marks and emotionally intensive adjectives (very, really), have sentimental writing style
men use words to express independence (I, my)
can humans detect spoken and written language sex differences?
no
ex. J.K rowling was actually a girl but put the book under this name so boys would read the book
what debates occur about language?
ex. saying mrs or ms, saying homosexual or gay
some people view this as unnecessary political correctness
what is political correctness?
the social norm (often viewed as taken to an extreme) that people should avoid language or acts that might offend, marginalize or exclude members of socially disadvantaged groups
what is the whorfian hypothesis?
proposes that a person who uses one set of words or speaks one language may actually see the world differently than a person who uses a different set of words or speaks a different language
what evidence supports the whorfian hypotheisis?
language that people use to describe sexual and domestic violence
found that passive voice (“rape was reported”) when talking about SA or rape, they dont talk about the person that raped the other, whereas for a murder they will say “the perpetrator attacked the victim”
ex. male to female partner violence was reported in passive voice wordings “she was beaten” while descriptions of femlae to male partner violence was reported in active voice wording “she beat him”
what is an example of how people sometimes legitimize experiences by inventing new words?
ex. acknowledging that IPV was an issue, this created IPV rape illegal
people might also transform the meaning of words to feel powerful, ex. gay people taking the word fag back
what is the different cultures approach?
the belief taht boys and girls are socialized to use language so differently that they may as well come from different “cultures,” which leads to communication
who talks more, men or women?
no significant sex difference
who talks more, men or women?
who talks more, girls or boys?
men slightly
girls slightly
why do girls talk more and why do men talk more?
girls: because mothers talk more to their children than fathers and they talk more to their daughters
men: talk more in task- oriented, mixed- sex groups
who interrupts more, men or women?
depends on the type of interpretation:
ex. interrupting can be seen as trying to assert dominance, found more in men when they interrupt to share their opinion in order to dominate the conversation for example
ex. can be seen as simultaneous overlapping talk that is supportive and cooperative, found more in women when they are supporting a friend for example
according to scientists is gossip considered good or bad?
good as it enhances a groups moral norms which allows people to bond with others (ex. you and tori both hate tia)
gossip can be used as a form of relational aggression, what is relational aggression?
a subtle form of aggression, usually committed when the target is not physically present, that is intended to harm the targets social relationships or status (people who lack status may use gossip as a way of gaining power when they are blocked from other routes to power)
who gossips more, men or women?
both are relatively the same but women show more interest in information about same sex others and more often use gossip as a form of relational aggression
women engage more in positive gossip
men engage more in negative gossip
when looking at social media, what types of things do women say in comparison to men?
women: use more social words (ex. symbols, say love you) use more emotion words (ex. excited), talk about friends and family more, affiliative language (ex. polite)
men: swearing, use possessive language when talking about their partner, talk about objects (ex. xbox), argumentative language
how do men and women not differ based on their language on social media?
both are assertive
in face to face language what is the correlation with assertiveness? affiliative speech? tentative/ hesitant language? self disclosure? (is it found more in men or women)
assertiveness: close to zero
affiliative: found more in women
tentative (hesitant/ uncertain): found more in women
self- disclosure: found more in women
(all of these correlations are not very strong though)
when discussing sex differences in men and womens communication patterns, what is important to note in research?
education level
class
race
ethnicity
sexual orientation
gender identity
(MOST RESEARCH ONLY LOOKS AT WHITE SAMPLES)
what is code switching?
strategically switching back and forth between languages and their different cultural meanings
ex. fakaleiti people who are tonga natives associate english with status and prestige (they code switch between english and tongan)
ex. can also occur with dialects of the same language, black people use “formal english” in the classroom but use “black english” outside the class to show people their experiences as black americans
what counts as nonverbal behaviour?
speech tone
pitch
infection count
(all use sound but not language)
eye contact (occurs most in women to women convos)
personal space and touch
body posture and gait
emotions
what shapes nonverbal behaviours?
sex
culture
who smiles more, women or men? in what cultures?
women
across all cultures
what is visual dominance?
a pattern of eye contact in which a person looks at others when speaking and looks away when listening (normally found in men, its opposite for women)
how does eye contact differ in western cultures compared to east asian cultures?
western: eye contact shows youre being truthful
east asian: looking away is a sign of respect and too much eye contact is disrespectful
what is the pattern of personal space amongst men in western cultures, mediterranean and latin men, arab men?
western: men like a large personal space bubble around other men (corresponds with having a more dominant personality)
med, latin and arab: small personal space compared to US
