Communication between the sexes

Conversation is the bonding agent between ourselves and our society.

For: informing, persuading, entertaining, conveying emotions, solving problems

2 kinds of dialogue:

InstrumentalExpressive

Consists of giving information and of soliciting the same.Ex: “Where is his office?” “Go north to the

2nd street, Upper Stratosphere Drive.”Instrumental talk, which stresses the

conveying of information, may tend to interfere with the free play of wit and to stifle colorful, creative dialogue development.

To help, reward, or raise the status of another, it may serve to reject, show antagonism, or express negative feelings.Ex.: “You did a fine job!”

“Susan is the greatest cook!” This type of talk covers a wide range

of facilitating and debilitating emotional dialogue.

Instrumental talk prevails in task-oriented groups and does not belong under the rubric conversation.

Expressive talk is the mainstay and the obligation of conversationalists.

It is the transferal of information, attitudes, and emotions from one person to another via oral discourse.

The keystone of conversation is speaking.

Consists of elements such as :strokesturns

Fundamental unit of social action. A stroke in conversation is what a

hug or pat is in physical contact. It is an act of recognition (Verbal

recognition).“An exchange of strokes is a unit of

social intercourse or an alternation in turn-taking.

J: Hello Rosie, Haven’t seen you for awhile.R: Hi, Jackie! How’s everything?J: Great, great. I’m still at Fabulous

Fashions. How’re you doing?R: Just fine. I’ve moved from cheese to

vegetables at the supermarket. Well , I have to rush off. work, work, work , you know.

J: Right! I’ll see you around RosieR: Yeah, ‘bye Jackie.

A speech exchange system. “Zimmerman and West” see

dialogue as a “speech exchange system.” It is organized so that (1) one person speaks at a time and (2) change or alternation of talkers occurs.

StatusAuthoritySex (gender)AgeOutside circumstancesNote: When each person is given or

takes a turn, he or she produces one or more units of discourse.

Turn-taking Not only have men been found to talk

much more than women in a mixed group, but they attain their greater talkativeness in part by interrupting women or answering questions that are not addressed to them.

Men have been found to interrupt women more often than women interrupt men.

Turn-taking Many women have a difficult time

getting and keeping attention in a group. When speaking in a group, some women

feel that men put their listening on a “hold pattern” and do not really hear the. Others complain that when they offer an idea or suggestion, the group takes no notice of it.

Overlaps Described as instances of speech during

which two persons speak at once.Ex. A: I didn’t know you knew BobB: Oh yeah, I

met his at Richards

Interruptions Is a vocalization before the last word that

could signal a possible end or boundary of a sentence, question, or other unit of talk.

Viewed as violation of the turn-taking system of unwritten rules, which prescribe that the proper place for speaker change is at the end limit of a unit of utterance or possible unit.

Ex.A: Today I met - (speaker may or may not finish his or her

sentence)B: Oh, I can’t talk – Gotta run!

Silences A break in conversational flow is termed a

lapse. Research suggests that females in female-

male segments fell silent most. For same-sex groups, all females or all males, these lapses of silence were scattered more evenly among all talkers.

Situations (females’ silence)▪ Delayed minimal response by a male▪ An overlap by a male▪ An interruption by a male

Conversational control Both delayed minimal responses and

interruptions may be ways to control conversational topics.

Males appear to assert strongly the right to control topics, and in so doing they seem to get little or no negative feedback from females.

Males ,consciously or unconsciously, deny equal status to women as conversational partners.

Expression of roles Females:▪ expressive, relational, or supportive talk.▪ more positive reactions than males to the

discussions▪ showed more ”tension release” (laughing,

manifested more solidarity. Males:▪ surpassed the women in the opinion-giving

and orientation-giving categories of talk. ▪ getting-the-job-done-speech▪ greater aggressiveness

Selection of topics Female▪ Studies suggest that religion and politics were

avoided▪ Had a greater interest in talking about persons

than things. ▪ Leading topics were men and clothes

Male▪ Most frequent tops was business, sports or

amusements▪ Frequent political discussion