Sex Differences in Nonverbal Behavior Flashcards
Nancy Henley’s argument on sex differences
- Wrote book “Body Politics” in 1977
- Her claim is that signs of low status exhibited nonverbally are the typical signs exhibited by females, high status signs are exhibited by males
- Her reason is that the power base of society is structured in a way such that women are in low status positions and men are in high status positions
- THERE IS NO REAL SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE FOR HER CLAIM OR REASONING
Space
- Men take up more space than women
- FF dyads use the least, MM use the most
- This may be just because men are, on average, bigger than women therefore need more space
Touch
- Low status people are the object of touch more than high status people
- Women touch others more than men do
- No clear pattern of touch asymmetry in M -> F vs. F ->M touch
Posture and Movement
- Men exhibit more body movements than women when conversing
- Women gesture more than men, but men use more large body movements
- Women sit in a more upright posture and exhibit more forward lean toward partner (This assumes that females are more dominant)
- Men that sit in a more open posture, women sit in closed posture (This assumes that men are more dominant)
Gaze
- Women gaze more than men
- Sex differences in gaze increases with age
- Women are gaze at more than men
- Does gaze = higher status (stare) or low status (monitoring environment)
Effects of sex vs. status on dominance ratio
- F expert, M nonexpert = F>M
- M expert, F nonexpert = M>F
- F expert, M expert = M>F
- When status cues are altered so is gaze pattern
- The social status cues of maleness disappear when expertise is altered
- Expertness trumps sex
Sex differences in attention to regions of the face
- Presented subjects with images of people in outdoor settings
- Tracked the viewers’ eye movement
- Males focus on the mouth region of the target
- Females focus on the eye region of the target
- Males may have a preference for dynamic features of the face
- Attracted to movement
- May also aid in speech recognition
Facial expression
- Females smile more than males
- Females are smiled at more than males
- Females are more facially expressive
- Females are better decoders of facial expression
- Effect is evident in studies of infants, children, and adolescents but is is weak; 53% of girls perform above average, compared to 46% of boys
- Females pay greater attention to visual info
- Males better recall verbal info
Talk time
- 396 participants wore an electronically activated recording device that recorded at random times
- Women average 16,215 words
- Men average 15,669 words
- Not significantly different
Influences on M/F styles of interaction: ATTENTION
Females pay more attention to vocal, facial, and body cues compared to males
Influences on M/F styles of interaction: RESPONSIVENESS
Females are more influenced by nonverbal than verbal cues, relative to men
Influences on M/F styles of interaction: KNOWLEDGE
Females seem more aware of the relationship between particular nonverbal cues and various emotional states
The Empathy Hypothesis
Women are accurate judges of nonverbal cues because they are more sensitive to other’s emotional experiences
MYTH!
The Masculinity-Femininity Hypothesis
Women are good decoders because they are feminine (i.e. have trait of being considerate, harmonious w/ others, etc.)
MYTH!
The Oppression Hypothesis
Women decode well because oppressed people are forced to develop such skills in order to cope with society
MYTH!
