Communication Flashcards
1
Q
Gender differences: topics of communication
A
- Women: discuss personal aspects of life, feelings, gossip, critique others, and come to more negative conclusions
- Men: impersonal matters, discuss objects and actions such as cars and sports, seek out laughs rather than support and counsel; less intimate and less personal than women’s conversations
2
Q
Gender differences: styles of conversation
A
- Women: less forceful than men, speech is more indirect and tentative; ask questions in conversations more than men
- Men: do more talking in conversations with women; men are more certain and knowledgeable in conversations
3
Q
Gender differences: self-disclosure
A
- Women: self-disclose more than men and elicit more self-disclosure; high in expressivity and comfortable talking about feelings
- Men: less self-disclosure to male partners than to female partners; more dependent on women for emotional warmth and intimacy
- Androgynous men: high in expressivity, meaningful and intimate interactions with both sexes
- Traditional “macho men”: superficial conversations and need relationships with women for warmth and intimacy
4
Q
Julien et al study: communication differences based on sexual orientation -> study basics
A
- Explored the contribution of negative and positive communication to relationship quality; explored differences between heterosexual, gay, and lesbian couples
- Participants filled out questionnaires regarding relationship quality
- Researchers used observational measures:
Partners took turns completing 2 twenty-minute videotaped interaction tasks during which they talked (helpee role) to their partner (helper role) about their most salient personal problem (anything other than work, health, or family)
5
Q
Julien et al study: communication differences based on sexual orientation -> selected results
A
- Heterosexual, gay male, and lesbian couples did not differ in levels of communication behaviours
- In both the conflict and the support domains, they showed similar levels of negative (ie. withdrawal, counter-validation) and positive behaviours (ie. help request, attentive while listening, validation, solutions)
- Also showed similar levels of perceived support of following support discussions
6
Q
Balzarini et al study: communication in polyamorous relationships in general
A
- Communication is a valuable skill in any relationship, increased importance in the context of polyamorous and other CNM (consensual non-monogamous) relationships
- People in these relationships employ an ideology that emphasizes open and honest communication –> most report making agreements or freely chosen rules with their partners regarding intimate behaviours and preferred level of knowledge about other partners
7
Q
Balzarini et al study: polyamory basics
A
- Most identify as having 2 concurrent partners:
- Primary relationships:
- – Between 2 partners who live together
- – Share finances
- – May or may not be married
- – May or may not have/raise children together
- Non-primary or secondary partners: Partners beyond the primary relationship
8
Q
Balzarini et al study: selected findings about communication and polyamory
A
- Survey respondents report greater communication for primary relationships → quality of communication with primary relationship partners exceeded the quality of communication for secondary relationships
- Why?
- – Greater communication may be necessary for primary relationships to endure while other relationships are pursued
- – High level of interdependence within primary relationships (communicate about needs and expectations, to negotiate agreements, schedules, and boundaries, and to work through the kinds of problems that emerge when negotiating polyamory)
9
Q
Non-verbal communication
A
- Includes everything that occurs in an interaction that is not spoken
- Has several functions:
- Provides information: person’s mood and meaning are evident in nonverbal behaviour
- Regulates interactions: subtle, nonverbal cues help people to take turns in conversations smoothly
- Defines the relationship: nonverbal actions express intimacy; also carry signals of power and status
10
Q
6 channels of non-verbal communication
A
- facial expressions
- eyes and gazing behaviour
- body movement
- touch
- interpersonal distance
- paralanguage
11
Q
non-verbal communication: facial expression
A
- signal moods and emotions in a manner that’s universal
- Facial expressions are prominent in non-verbal communication, and we sometimes try to manage them to disguise the true emotion
- but fake/pretend expressions differ from authentic ones (“microexpressions”: short flashes of real emotions, may only be seconds, visible during momentary lapses of control)
- follow display rules (cultural norms that dictate what emotions are appropriate in particular situations)
12
Q
universal emotions
A
- Happiness
- Sadness
- Fear
- Anger
- Disgust
- Surprise
- Contempt
13
Q
4 ways we try to modify our expressions to follow display rules
A
- Intensifying or exaggerating them (ex. Trying to look super happy when you receive a gift you don’t like)
- Minimizing or lessening them (ex. Downplaying your true feelings about watching a movie you don’t want to watch)
- Neutralizing or withholding them (ex. Poker players hiding true feelings they get when they have a good hand)
- Masking or replacing them with other emotions (ex. Runner-up hiding how upset they are when they lose)
14
Q
non-verbal communication: eyes and gazing behaviour
A
- Direction and amount of a person’s eye contact
- Pupils dilate when we see something that interests us
- Communicates interest or disinterest (eg. interactions at a bar/restaurant)
- Look at conversational partners more when listening
- Helps define relationships (lovers look at each other more than friends, friends look at each other more than acquaintances)
15
Q
non-verbal communication: body movement
A
- Posture or motion of body (ex. Thumbs up, crossing arms over your chest)
- Gestures vary from culture to culture (ex. Okay symbol with finger to thumb)
- Can also signal status (high status people adopt open, asymmetric postures that take up a lot of space)
- Both men and women attracted more interest on Tinder when they adopted an open, expansive posture that indicated self-confidence and status
