A Response to “Sex, Gender, and Communication in Small Groups” Throughout this course, a focus of study has been the discrepancies between how men and women communicate in a group. The article “Sex, Gender, and Communication in Small Groups” by Nina M. Reich and Julia T. Wood focuses on many of these differences, while also providing similarities between how both men and women communicate. To begin, Reich and Wood start by making the important distinction between sex and gender. Sex is the biological difference between the two, which includes different reproductive organs, different hormones, and more. Gender is a cultural construct used to differentiate between masculinity and femininity. Gender’s meaning is not universal or stable, but …show more content…
Reich and Wood take this analysis further by showing that even with their typical differences, both men and women are similar in that they act to achieve goals, are ambitious, value supportive relationships, seek and exercise leadership, and are assertive and deferential (Aries 1996; Burleson in Press). All of this information corroborates what was said in class, and further strengthens the idea that there are differences in masculine and feminine communication styles, which can contribute to misunderstandings between the sexes. This study, however, shows that regardless of how the communication is occurring, all humans are searching for the same foundational values, including reaching a goal. I think that this is valuable information because it furthers the research presented in class by highlighting that regardless of communication style, there is purpose and validity to all forms of communication.
Through conflict styles and decision-making, there are stereotypes that can be made based on assumptions of men and assumptions of women, but overall this is not the most comprehensive analysis of conflict style or decision-making. In class, we discussed the five conflict styles developed by Kilmann and Thomas. These five styles are avoidance, accommodation, competition, compromise, and collaboration. This article expands on the conflict style knowledge given in class by explaining when put into gender categories conflict styles are too simplistic. I agree with
Symbolism is used to represent the deeper meaning of an aspect or rather unnoticeable part of the story. Using symbolism helps further the understanding of the story and it’s meaning. In the book Night by Elie Wiesel, symbolism is used to deepen and accentuate the theme of sadness and horridness that has been established throughout the story. Juliek’s violin, selection, and kaddish all show strong symbolism of despair, loss of hope and faith, and attempts to grasp what remains of humanity within oneself.
In the essay Sex, Lies, and Conversation Deborah Tannen focuses on the differences and lack of communication between men and women though observations. She came to the conclusion that men were not lacking in their listening, but they were however listening in a different way than the women did. On the other hand, men aren’t the only people that have terrible communication skills. In many ways, these differences between the two genders can cause major conflict when not understood by the opposite side. A few examples of lack of communication may be when women don’t decide where they would like to eat, men who walk away from an argument rather than talking it out, and their decision making processes.
The Bluefin Trevally is a species of large marine fish. The bluefin trevally can be found throughout the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They grow to max length of 117 cm and a weight of 43.5 kg. The bluefin trevally can be found in both inshore environments such as bays, lagoons, and shallow reefs. As well as deeper offshore reefs, atolls and bomboras. They mainly eat fish but also eat cephalopods (mainly octopus and squid) and crustaceans like shrimp, stomatopods, and crabs.
Male and female differ in their use of communication because their reasons for communicating are different. Men
Gender communication and identity arise from direct definition, which is an explicit definition that shapes and tells us who we are through the labels made by parent/guardians and peers based on our behaviors (Wood, pg. 186). Peers tend to greatly emphasize gender conformity, and this concept was quite visible in the movie between Claire and Bender. The two get into an argument about their family backgrounds and it is obvious to see that due to their contrasting upbringing, they both differed on viewpoints of life. Because of these differences, Claire showed to take offense to Bender's demeaning statements and insults. She also showed her vulnerability side as she began to cry and reveal her feelings. On the contrary, Bender had no shame in
Sociologists reject the idea that behavioural differences between men and women are biologically determined. Outline the key grounds for this rejection and discuss what this means for a sociological understanding of gender.
Vinkenburg, van Engen, Eagly, and Johannesen-Schmidt (2011) found that gender differences in communication style norms can also impact advancement in careers. While the differences in group collaboration and leadership styles between men and women may be trivial, and perception of gender-based leadership style is not. Women were shown to use more effective, leadership techniques then men. However, men were perceived as being slightly better leaders and more inspirational in the work setting, despite the fact that woman’s leadership styles tended to be more rounded. The perpetuation of gender bias in promotion decisions perpetuates the stereotype that men hold
How one communicates is also influenced by gender. Studies show that ones sex can place a person in a gender role expectation. Women and Men communicate differently and because sexual identity is defined through same sex parent or role model, women and men can get into gender role expectations. These expectations influence their perception attitudes and behavior that will result in a communication style. This early self-concept can effect each one's interpersonal relations. Women for instance are much-attached human beings they have very early identification with their mothers, and this can cause an on going pattern of role expectation. It can lead to interpersonal communication skills that are very nurturing and understanding. Women are not threatened by intimacy and communicating at a close range with people. Similarly, men also have an early identification process not with their mother, but their fathers. Men tend to be fairly reserved, and quite. Men are most comfortable when there is a level of separation. This male role will contribute to the communication processes and it can cause communication to
In order to be able to solve some of the problems associated with gender miscommunications, we should distinguish first between the two different types of communications: verbal communication and nonverbal communication. Verbal communication consists of messages expressed by linguistic means such as the use of intonation, the specific words we choose to say, and the way we are saying them. There are differences in females and males usage of language/verbal communication. As we might expect from traditional sex-role stereotypes, girls tend to establish more egalitarian same-sex groups. Girls use friendly groups as a training ground for cooperation. Boys view friendly conversation among their friends as training for verbal aggression. Females are more verbal, use three times more amount of words than males, they are much more descriptive and use more adjectives. Women are less direct in their communication style. As Prof. Tannen showed in one of her research, women are more indirect in answering questions depends on the situation. They answer questions the way they would like to be answered by men, which means more than just a yes/no answer. However, men answer the way they would like to be answered
In response to what we have discussed thus far in Interpersonal Communication, I would like to further explore the idea of gender in the interpersonal communication arena. As was said in class, ”gender influences cultural perspectives.” Gender also influences how we view ourselves in society. On the flip side, I’ve seen how society can mold the way we label ourselves in terms of gender.
This research paper focuses on the gender differences at work and their communication styles. It discusses the manner in which men and women take in communicating to others. It is viewed that men are no longer the power house of communication. Research will indicates that in group settings, not one gender type dominates the conversation, but the one who shows leadership is determined to have power. In addition, studies indicate that men are less intuitive than women because women express nonverbal communication with great sensitivity.
Communication is a crucial part of our daily lives which can be interpreted in various ways. Although, many couples think they have no problems communicating with each other; however, the issue among genders still exists. Learning to talk and listen can improve relationships in many ways. Therefore, Deborah Tannen, John Gray, Susan Page, and John Gottman focused on improving communication skills between genders.
Communication between males and females has always been somewhat complicated. Because we are arguing that males and females have different cultures we wanted to take a look at what some of these differences might be. According to our research the inherent differences between male and female culture are the different roles that society holds for them and the ways these roles lead to different communication styles. The stereotypes that men and women grow up with affect the types of ways in which they communicate. We first wanted to take a look at how they specifically differ while men and women are arguing or having normal conversations. We also looked at the different types of networks that men and women
There are four distinct conflict styles which are the levels of assertiveness and cooperativeness that are employed by a person in a conflict situation. Everyone has their own individual conflict style; my own style tends to be accommodating. This means that I am not very assertive and I am very good at cooperating with those I am in conflict with. In this essay I will examine each conflict style and my own choice of style and why I tend to default to this style. I will also examine whether or not my choice of the accommodating style is the best approach to resolving conflict, and discuss the advantages of learning to use each of the styles in specific situations.
How one communicates is also influenced by gender. Studies show that ones sex can place a person in a gender role expectation. Women and Men communicate differently and because sexual identity is defined through same sex parent or role model, women and men can get into gender role expectations. These expectations influence their perception attitudes and behavior that will result in a communication style. This early self-concept can effect each one's interpersonal relations. Women for instance are much-attached human beings they have very early identification with their mothers, and this can cause an on going pattern of role expectation. It can lead to interpersonal