TEXTBOOK: Ch. 6 - Gendered Nonverbal Communication

*Territoriality*

*__________________* is personal space. Yet, not everyone's territory is equally respected. People with power tend to enter the spaces of those with less power, but the converse is not true. In general, men go into women's spaces more than women enter men's spaces and more than men enter other men's spaces. Also, men are more likely than women to challenge those who enter their territory.

*artifact*

Artifacts: An *___________* is a personal object that can both express identity and influence how we see ourselves. Beginning with pink and blue blankets for newborns, personal objects are used to assign gender to children. Parents send artifactual messages through the toys they give to sons and daughters. Play weapons, toy soldiers, and miniature race cars invite competition and active, rough play, whereas dolls, play houses, and makeup kits encourage nurturing, domestic activities, and attention to appearance.

*Haptics*

Haptics (Touch): *_____________*, or touch, from parents and other adults communicates different massages to boys and girls. Parents tend to touch daughters more often and more gently than they touch sons, which teaches girls to expect touching from others and to view touching as an affiliative behavior. Boys are more likely to learn to associate touching with control and power. Because men are generally taller and often stronger than women, they tend to have more physical confidence and to be more willing to use bodily force than women. Some men are unaware of how imposing their size strength is, especially to others who are smaller or less physically strong.

*Kinesics*

Kinesics (Facial and Body Motion): *_______________* are face and body movements. Feminine kinesic behaviors include titling heads, smiling, and condensing their bodies to take up less space. Masculine onesie behaviors include using large gestures, taking up space, and entering others' territories. These gender-differentiated patterns suggest that women's facial and body motions generally signal that they are approachable, friendly, and unassuming. Men's facial and body communications, in contrast, tend to indicate that they are emotionally reserved and in control.

*liking*

Liking: A second dimension of the relationship level of meaning is *___________*. We use nonverbal behaviors to signal that we like or dislike others. Nonverbal cues of like include vocal warmth, standing or sitting close to others, touching, and holding eye contact. Girls and women are typically socialized to be nice to others and maintain relationships, so it is not surprising that they are more likely than men to employ more nonverbal communication that signals liking, acceptance, and friendliness. We can also use nonverbal behaviors to signal that we do not like others. A frown, glare, or turning away communicates dislike.

*paralanguage*

Paralanguage: Vocal cues that accompany verbal communication are called *______________________*. Paralanguage includes inflection, tone, volume, accent, pitch, and rhythm. Although there are physiological differences in male and female vocal organs (the larynx and pharynx), these do not account fully for gender differences in paralanguage. For instance, the larger, thicker vocal folds typical of male larynxes do result in lower pitch, but the difference between the average pitch of male speakers and female speakers exceeds that explained by physiology. To understand why women and men tend to have divergent paralanguage, we must once again consider socialization. What vocal cues would you expect of someone taught to be deferential and caring? What would you expect of someone taught to be assertive, emotionally reserved, and independent? Your expectations probably closely match identified differences in male and female paralanguage. In general, women use higher pitch, softer volume, and more inflection. Men tend to use lower pitch and greater volume in order to assert themselves and command the conversational stage. Also consider the impact of smiling - vocal pitch tends to rise when we smile because of the way lips are positioned.

*power*

Power or Control: The third aspect of the relationship level of meaning is *___________*, or control. Power refers to the degree to which people are equal to, dominant over, or deferential to others. Control is exerted in conversations by defining topics, directing conversation, and interrupting, all of which may involve both verbal and nonverbal communication. Although many nonverbal behaviors convey control messages, 3 are especially important: vocal qualities, touch, and use of space. In all 3 categories, men generally exceed women in engaging in control. For instance, men tend to use greater volume and inflection, which add force to their words and allow them to be heard over others. Nonverbal behaviors may also express power through use of personal space. Women are more likely than men to surrender their personal space and less likely to enter others' personal space except to express liking. You can confirm this by watching people on campus and elsewhere. Notice what men and women do when walking toward each other on a sidewalk. Usually, women move to one side and they often do so well in advance.

*Proxemics*

Proximity and Personal Space: *________________* refers to space and our use of it. Space is an index of power, a primary way to designate who is important and privilege. In strongly patriarchal societies, women are not allowed to own property; thus, they are denied the right to literal, physical space that is their own.

*responsiveness*

Responsiveness: The first dimension of the relationship level of meaning is *____________________________*, which indicates interest in and attentiveness to others. Nonverbal cues of responsiveness include inflection, eye contact, and attentive body posture. Lack of responsiveness may be signaled by yawns or averted eyes. Research shows that women generally are more responsive communicators than men. If you recall the lessons learned in gender speech communities, you'll realize that greater responsiveness is cultivated in feminine speech communities. socialized to be affiliative, many women use nonverbal behaviors to indicate engagement with other, emotional involvement, and empathy. Women tend to smile and maintain eye contact, whereas men lean forward and adopt postures congruent with those of the persons speaking.

*nonverbal communication*

Toys provide an introduction to the nonverbal dimension of communication. Nonverbal communication is important, constituting between 65% and 93% of the total meaning of communication. That's not surprising when we realize that *_________________________* includes all elements of communication other than words themselves. Nonverbal communication is not only limited to gestures and movement but also includes inflection, volume, physical appearance, environmental factors, and artifacts such as toys.