Unit 5: Language and Emotion

Question 1

What is the WHORFIAN HYPOTHESIS (linguistic relativity)?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What were a few differences that a computer was able to suss out between female and male writing?

Answer 2

Women: use more quotation marks and emotionally intensive adjectives (very, really)

Men: use more words to express independence, such as first-person singular pronouns

Question 3

Are people able to detect the differences in gender based on verbal or written language?

Answer 3

No, not reliably

Question 4

What is the GENERIC MASCULINE?

Answer 4

the use of male-gendered terms to refer not only to men, but mixed-sex groups, human beings in general, individuals whose sex is unspecified
mankind, freshman, forefathers, brotherhood, manpower

Question 5

What is problematic about using the generic masculine?

Answer 5

imprecise, can obscure meaning (when we speak about congressmen, do we literally mean the MEN in congress, or all members?)

renders girls and women invisible
produces gender-biased thoughts

Question 6

What is GRAMMATICAL GENDER?

Answer 6

a type of classification system in a certain language, like French or Hindi, in which most nouns are assigned a gender (masculine, feminine, or neutral)

nations with gendered language have lower levels of gender equality > possibly because referring to objects as masc. or fem. highlights or enhance gender distinctions within a culture

Question 7

What are some ways in which people gender language in English?

Answer 7

adding gendered suffixes: hero = heroine, actor = actress, host = hostess

adding unnecessary qualifiers to roles: female scientist, male nurse

doing this can imply and spotlight gender role norm violations and suggest subtle power differences

Question 8

What are DIMINUTIVES?

Answer 8

a form of a word used to indicate a smaller, less powerful, or more familiar version&raquo_space; booklet, duckling, mommy/daddy

when people refer to adult women as “girls,” infantilizing them and reducing their social status

Question 9

How can language reinforce gender stereotypes?

Answer 9

using certain trait adjectives to describe one sex more often than the other: women are “pushy,” attempting to assert more power than they legitimately have; men are “condescending,” in a position of relative power to look down on someone

Question 10

How does the use of passive voice affect perception of gender?

Answer 10

in language used to describe sexual and domestic violence, reports use the passive voice much more frequently than when describing other types of crimes

passive voice removes the doer from the action of the sentences, drawing attention away from the perpetrator of the crime
“She was beaten” vs. “He beat her”

these wordings relate to how people attribute harm and blame to victims and perpetrators, putting more responsibility on victims

Question 11

What are the implications of phrases like “sexual harassment” and “marital rape” ?

Answer 11

words can create experiences or raise awareness; these types of phrases bring attention and thereby initiate possible change

Question 12

What is the DIFFERENT CULTURES APPROACH?

Answer 12

the belief that boys and girls are socialized to use language so differently that they may as well come from different “cultures,” which leads to miscommunication

girls and women are assumed to develop an affective communication style that is emotionally expressive, oriented toward maintaining relationships

boys and men are presumed to develop an instrumental communication style that is informational, oriented toward problem solving and completing tasks

Question 13

What are the common stereotypes regarding “Who Talks More?”

Answer 13

women are overly talkative and the contents of the speech are unimportant

“strong silent type” stereotype for men

Question 14

What does research demonstrate re: talking habits of men and women?

Answer 14

there is no significant sex difference in the number of words spoken per day

meta-analyses show small, contextual sex differences: men are slightly more talkative than women, girls are slightly more talkative than boys > girls also talk earlier than boys
mothers talk more to their children, and talk more frequently to daughters
women are more talkative in groups, but not in non-collaborative settings
men talk more than women in task-oriented, mixed-sex groups

Question 15

What kinds of sex differences are found regarding interrupting?

Answer 15

boys and men tend to commit more intrusive interruptions than girls (small to medium effect)

women tend to use simultaneous, overlapping talk that is supportive and cooperative more often than men

women interrupt in ways that build rapport; men interrupt in ways that dominate and control

Question 16

What is RELATIONAL AGGRESSION?

Answer 16

a subtle form of aggression that is intended to harm the target’s social relationships or status

can also be positive, in the sense of enforcing a group’s moral norms and enhancing social bonds

Question 17

What kinds of trends are found between men and women re: gossiping?

Answer 17

men and women gossip about the same overall, but about different things: women gossip more about physical appearance and relationships; women also engaged in more positive gossip, though the content for both sexes was more negative overall

Question 18

What kind of trends were found between men and women re: social media?

Answer 18

men used profanity more frequently (corroborating research that men swear more in general); use the possessive “my” when referring to their significant other, and more likely to talk about objects than women are; use argumentative language more

women use more emotion words, social words and symbols; talk about friends and family more often; warmer, more compassionate, more affiliative language

Question 19

What is a possible third-variable problem that exists in research regarding sex differences in verbal communication?

Answer 19

cultural communication styles

in Iran, individuals with more education raised more topics (dominance) in mixed-sex conversations, regardless of sex

while White men and women tend to differ in their use of polite, tentative, and assertive language this pattern does not exist with Black men and women; differences in assertive language use were also found in Vietnamese women
^^ the stereotype that men use more assertive language than women may apply only, or primarily, to White people

Question 20

What is CODE-SWITCHING?

Answer 20

strategically switching back and forth between language and their different cultural meanings

Question 21

Who are the Fakaleiti and what behaviours do we observe in their language use?

Answer 21

Transgender individuals from Tonga, who are assigned male at birth but assume a relatively feminine manner
In Tonga, English is associated with status and prestige. Fakaleiti use English (and code-switch strategically) as a means of expressing resistance to their marginal identities

Question 22

What is the big picture regarding verbal communication and sex differences?

Answer 22

sex differences do sometimes emerge in the content and topics of female and male speech, but overall findings vary from study to study based on demographic characteristics of samples, specific language features, and contextual variables

Question 23

What sex differences do we see in the domain of smiling and eye contact?

Answer 23

girls and women tend to smile more (medium effect size)
women gaze at their interaction partners more than men do, and people gaze at women more than at men; the highest amounts of mutual eye contact occur between pairs of women

Question 24

What is VISUAL DOMINANCE?

Answer 24

a pattern of eye contact in which a person looks at others when speaking and looks away when listening; more often exhibited by men, especially when interacting with women

Question 25

What sex differences do we see in the domain of personal space and touch?

Answer 25

men in Western cultures tend to have larger personal space zones; stand farther way, especially from other men > demonstration of dominance?
pairs in which both participants possessed high levels of agentic traits maintain the largest personal distances, regardless of sex; this is also dependent on culture

girls and women touch each other more and report greater comfort when being touched

Question 26

What is MAN-SPREADING?

Answer 26

the tendency for men to spread out and adopt an expansive posture while sitting, thus taking up more space

Question 27

What sex differences do we see regarding body posture and gait?

Answer 27

men tend to assume more expansive body postures

women frequently assume more restrictive body postures, taking up less space; are more likely to use postures that socially engage their partners

people perceive walking with swaying hips as feminine and walking with swaggering shoulders as masculine&raquo_space; people can usually tell the sex of a walker with very minimal cues

Question 28

What is the big picture regarding non-verbal communication?

Answer 28

sex differences in non-verbal communication behaviours tend to be fairly consistent with gender role stereotypes and expectations

women show more other-oriented behaviours that indicate concern and attention
men show more dominant and self-promoting nonverbal behaviours

Question 29

What is EMOTION?

Answer 29

a complex, internal, and subjective reaction that includes physiological, psychological, and behavioural components

experiencing, expressing, and recognizing emotions are separate capcities

Question 30

What are emotional DISPLAY RULES?

Answer 30

culture-specific norms that regulate how, when, and whether or not an individual should express particular emotions

Question 31

What sex differences do we see in the domain of “emotionality”?

Answer 31

(could refer to how people feel emotions or how openly they express them)

in general, women and girls report experiencing more affiliative and vulnerable emotions

boys and men report more anger and pride

Question 32

How does socialization influence emotionality in the sexes?

Answer 32

biologically, boys do show higher arousal and activity levels in infancy; girls show better impulse control and attention (generally)

^^ these differences affect how parents, teachers, and peers respond to children’s emotional states
socialization may encourage boys to dampen their emotions by regulating their high arousal and activity levels; learn to suppress emotions
girls may receive encouragement to express affiliative emotions and avoid conflict by directing negative emotions inward

Question 33

What are some common social penalties that might be wrought by violating emotional display rules?

Answer 33

women are expected to demonstrate positive emotions, and may be seen as unfriendly if they do not

expressing anger can be costly for women; those who do in the workplace are generally seen as having lower status and are recommended for lower salaries than men who express anger

men can express powerful emotions like anger, but should avoid low-power emotions like sadness

Question 34

What is the TEDDY BEAR EFFECT?

Answer 34

Black male CEOs are seen as more “baby-faced” and warmer than White male CEOs
Black men who appear physically non-threatening may have an advantage in seeking high status positions because they do not activate stereotypes about Black men being aggressive

Question 35

How do display rules vary cross-culturally?

Answer 35

people from individualistic cultures believe it is more acceptable to express emotions (particularly negative) to members of their in group than those from collectivistic cultures
this greater permissibility may primarily extend to women bc these cultures often have display rules that restrict men’s expressions

Question 36

What is ENCODING ACCURACY?

Answer 36

the ability to communicate nonverbally in a clear manner that others can interpret correctly

Question 37

What is DECODING ACCURACY?

Answer 37

the ability to read the nonverbal communications of others correctly

Question 38

What sex differences do we observe regarding encoding and decoding accuracy?

Answer 38

women have an advantage in both types; this seems to reflect the tendency for men to suppress their nonverbal expressions, while women are more likely to amplify

women also greater ability to decode emotions expressed by others

women’s strengths in these areas may not reflect sex, but their greater likelihood of possessing gender-typed personality traits; regardless of sex, people who are higher in warmth and kindness show better decoding accuracy

Question 39

What is EMPATHY?

Answer 39

the tendency to feel the emotional state of another person and to see the world from another person’s vantage point; affective and cognitive components (understanding and feeling emotions)

Question 40

What are EMOTIONAL CONTAGION EFFECTS?

Answer 40

the tendency for people to synchronize their emotions automatically with the emotions of others, without necessarily being aware of it happening

it’s possible that women do this more (EEG studies find they do, fMRI studies do not support this)

Question 41

What is a common stereotype regarding women and empathy?

Answer 41

people stereotype women as being more attuned to the emotions of others, better able to “read” people, and more concerned about others

self-reports show that women and girls report more empathy, but other types of studies suggest this is due to social desirability effects

Question 42

What is EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE?

Answer 42

the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions and the emotions of others, and to use emotions to solve problems

Question 43

What stereotypes do we observe regarding emotional intelligence?

Answer 43

compared with women, men estimate their emotional intelligence as high, but women tend to score higher on various measures

Question 44

What is the big picture regarding emotions and empathy?

Answer 44

women are somewhat more empathic and show moderately higher levels of emotional intelligence, but these differences may reflect motivation rather than ability