Research Study on Gender Differences

There are two factors that can determine nonverbal communication skills. The first factor is gender. Females in general tend to be better at dealing and expressing their own feeling. According to Hall, J.A. in Psychology Bulletin, women tend to understand nonverbal communication and facial expression in particular more than men (5). This indicates that females can decode nonverbal behaviours more easily than males. One reason can be that women might use nonverbal communication more often in their daily lives, thus it is easier for them to interact using this type of communication. Since females are considered to be quite good at judging nonverbal communication, they are less likely to suffer in their professions (6). This is an illustration that nonverbal communication can be influenced by gender and that it might differ between men and women.

I am originally from Puerto Rico, which is a country in which communication is an integral part of society. The cultural norm of the Puerto Rican culture is to speak up when necessary and communicate clearly if we want things to be done. At the same time, I believe that in order to produce results, the manner in which communicating takes place, is an extremely important component. My culture also showed me how the emotions used when communicating, such as the use of the hands and body language, will dictate the tone and flow of the communication. The literature suggests that the majority (as much as 76%) of the message we gibe to another person during conversations is carried by non-verbal or para-verbal communication. Thus, we must be very careful and strategic in our use o non-verbal communication (Van Acker, 1997).

In chapter 6 from gendered lives communication, gender, and culture by Julia Wood it talked about gendered nonverbal communication. Chapter 6 had multiple key concepts that stood out. For instance, in chapter 6 some key key concepts that stood out where Power which refers to the degree to which people are equal to, dominant over, or deferential to others. Chapter 6 also talked about Artifact which is a personal object that can both express identity and influence how we see ourselves. Another key concept that stood out in chapter 6 was physical appearance: how one looks.

There are various differences between genders; physiologically, psychologically, etc. Leaper (1991) conducted a study that examined age, gender, and partner differences. The experiment consisted of 138 participants, median age of 5 and 7 years old. Leaper recorded and quantified speech acts into four categories; collaborative (affiliate involvement and direct influence), controlling (distancing involvement and direct influence), obliging (affiliate involvement and non-direct influence), and withdrawing (distancing involvement and non-direct influence). He found that communication patterns between both genders were similar at the early childhood versus middle childhood. Leaper 's findings showed that gender differences progressed through time and communication patterns changed as the child grew. Developmental and contextual accounts of gender and social behavior cause these gender differences.

Men are from Venus and women are from Mars, a book written by Arthur John Gray, metaphorically stated a popular myth of the impassable difference of genders. In the article “Gender” written by Greer, argues that gender hierarchies cannot be categorized through biological or behavior data. Differences between female and male are also exaggerated by learnt behavior. Also, Brownmiller’s article “Emotion” disputes that women are assessed negatively by the social to be emotional, irritable and tearful which are opposite to men. In light of their approaches, this essay will compare and contrast them two based on their emphasis.

As we have begun to discuss culture, we have come to the realization that culture can take many forms. People who have different ethnicities or grew up in different countries will most likely have different cultures along with different values. Although we inherently want to say that out own culture is the “right” culture, we have to realize that not everyone has been rraised the same or shared the same experiences as us. In Lareau’s reading, the cultural upbringing of different children of different races illustrates how culture and values will vary from person to person. The children are brought up in a middle-class or working class/ poor class, but

“Courtney has cooties!” As a child, gender differences are ideals that are not thought of but clearly defined. Unknowingly, children create a type of separation that frames the way we see gender today. From games at were “boys vs. girls” to either boys or girls having cooties, the gender division can be seen by children of all ages. In the article “Constructing “Opposite Sides”,” Barrie Thorne observes how children in schools come to see boys and girls as an “opposite sides.”

Along the lines of gender, we were able to see differences among males and females that are rather obvious and some that were completely out of the norm. Postures and body language give us insight into a person's gender, but like most other classifications, are not mutually exclusive to one group or the other. Numerous females were observed sitting in positions of "proper" posture with their legs or ankle crossed under them, while males would tend to sit in postures that were more slouchy and open. Females tended to speak to one another when sitting at a same sex table, as opposed to males who had minimal conversation while among same sex friends. Yet, in some cases among mixed gender groups, males seemed to hang on every word that a female would communicate and be incredibly "interested" in what they had to say. Females also tended to "speak" with more body language surrounded by members of the opposite sex. Another

Teri Gamble and Michael Gamble’s essay “Nonverbal Behavior: Culture, Gender, and the Media,” discuss how different cultures communicate in nonverbal ways. Cultures have ways that can communicate non-verbally and other communicate verbally, but not all cultures have the same cues, which implies that we can’t practice our own techniques of communicating amongst others for the motive that it wouldn’t make sense. The Gamble’s relate this to the different communication skills on how men and women communicate. Women display more of their nonverbal communication skills; Men use more of the verbal way of communicating. Therefore, many of the times Men and Women don’t comprehend each other simply for the circumstance that they aren’t expressing themselves

Nature vs. Nurture? The debate has obsessed the minds of psychologists and philosophers for many years, each arguing their idea is the right way. ABC aired a TV documentary "Boys and Girls are Different" hosted by John Stossel to show some of the leading feminists ideas and their opponents thoughts.

Spiritual well-being is one aspect of the human experience that is appears controversial and intriguing at the same time. This study approached the hypothesis of gender differences between men and women in spiritual well-being. The study used the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (Ellison, 1983) and assessed 75 college students in the survey. The study resulted in data that confirmed the hypothesis that men and women do not have any significant differences in spiritual well-being.

Combined research shows men and women vary little in experiencing emotion but contrast greatly in the expression of emotion. Psychologists have studied the reasons behind the differences through the years and there are still many unanswered questions but there are several well-accepted possible causes and combination of causes. Neuro science and the brain makeup is the first area of proven differences.

It is important to be aware of the differences between men and women in the art of nonverbal communication. Knowing these differences can be helpful in understanding why a person is doing a particular action and what it means. As was previously noted, women are more openly emotional and intimate so the body language they use and the reason they use it will be different from the man, who tends to be more reserved with emotional manners. Females are usually more expressive than men and are more likely to return a smile. They do not use as many gestures as men unless they are trying to gain approval from someone, but will usually opt for playing with their hair or clothing or placing their hands in their lap in social situations. Men, on the other hand, do not smile as much as women. They do use more gestures than females, such as sweeping arm and hand motions, in conversation. (West Virginia Department of Education) Males and females also use different body language in the realm of

The purpose of this article was to come to solid conclusions about the issue of sex and gender differences. Deaux arrived at these conclusions through comprehensive review of studies conducted on the issue in the past. The criteria he used to review this information was he only used psychological literature, he ignored broad physiological data unless related to a specific behavior, and did not use clinical or therapeutic research. As well he only dealt in areas of sex differences where there was wide spread research and held the most promise to explain how sex and gender influenced behavior. In addition he only focussed his research

Gender Differences in Personality Are Women and Men Really That Different? Mark Joyce A00025340 Judith Butler once said “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender... Identity is performatively constituted by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results”, which is a great quote for the topic of gender differences in personality. Over the past century many researchers have studied the gender differences in personality and many theories have been stated. When looking at the most recent articles written three major topics kept coming up, personality based on cognition and leadership, gender differences in personality tests and gender differences in social behavior. After doing research it was evident that the