Criticisms of the dominance theory Flashcards
(10 cards)
What did baxters classroom study consist of in 2005
-recorded convos in schools who been told they crash landed and must rate items in order of importance
-pupils decided to work in single sex groups
how did group A and B appear in Baxters classroom study?
Group As interaction seems more competitive as the members seem to be showing signs of irritation
Group Bs interaction seems more cooperative as when members disagree they do so with humour
This may lead us to guess that group A is boys and group B is girls based on previous evidence
What were the actual results of Baxters classroom study?
Group A was the girls and Group B was the boys but it was not easy to determine which is which through linguistic evidence alone as each group contains elements of cooperative and competitive language
What were the conclusions of Baxters’ classroom study?
Language differences is not dependent on solely gender
Our preconceived ideas about gender lend to self-fulfilling prophecy
Conclude what baxters studies focussed on challenging
-Challenged the idea that women lack power in conversations with men
-She believed women are as capable of being powerful as men are showing language differences isn’t dependent on gender but instead leadership and power
What was the procedure of Baxter’s boardroom study?
-over 18 months she analyzed speech in boardroom settings
What were the findings of Baxter’s boardroom study?
Found women were four times more likely than men to be self-deprecating, use humor, and speak indirectly or apologetically
-women use double-voice discourse because they’re outnumbered by men on boards.
What is double voice discourse?
(baxters boardroom study)
When a person speaks, they have awareness and are concerned about others.
What does Baxter’s boardroom suggest about women’s language to be viewed as a strength
-men are more direct and confrontational when talking as they do have a regard for listeners
-women use more strategies to preserve alliances and build bridges within a business to achieve goals easier
What are the 2 key criticisms of the dominance theory?
-Multifunctional nature of linguistic forms (interruptions can be supportive not just dominant)
-Contextual factors aren’t given enough attention (theory correlates gender with speech but doesn’t consider other factors)
