Post on 31-Mar-2015
transcript
Female-Male Nonverbal Communication
Chapter Eleven
Definitions
• Sex is the biological and genetic difference between girls and boys, men and women
• Gender is the psychological, social, and cultural manifestations of what people perceive to be the appropriate behaviors of females and males
Three Theoretical Explanations
• Genetics
• Modeling of older males and females
• Conditioning or reinforcement
Genetics
• Males and females inherit different bone structures and body types
• They determine our walk, gestures, and posture can influence other nonverbal behaviors such as our smiles
• Females have larger breasts, men have wider shoulders
Modeling
• We learn many of our behaviors by observing others and imitating their behavior
Reinforcement or Conditioning
• Behavior that is reinforced or conditioned will increase
Appearance and Attractiveness
• Culturally, females may have to meet higher standards of attractiveness
• Attractive people are perceived as more socialable, more likeable, more outgoing, more intelligent and happier
Gesture and Movement
• As early as preschool, girls and boys exhibit body movements and gestures of their biological sex
• Greater display of dominant gestures from males and a greater display of acquiescing gestures by females
Face and Eye Behavior
• Men tend to mask or hide their emotions more than women
• Men smile primarily when amused or happy, females smile even when sending negative messages
• Women look more at the other person in a conversation than men do
• Females hold eye contact longer• Females gaze, men stare
Vocal Behavior
• If we like the sound of a person’s voice we are more attentive, more open to listening, and more likely to engage in an extended conversations with that person
Space
• The older we get, the more space we give
• Women require less space than men
• Females are expected to yield space to a man
• Men command the bulk of the available space
Touch
• Touch diminishes from infancy on
• Women seem to be more concerned about the type of touch they give or receive than men are
• In male-female interaction, it is the male which frequently initiates touch
Courtship Rituals
• Quasi-courtship cues – courtship-readiness, preening behavior, positional cues, and actions of appeal or invitation
Courtship-Readiness Cues
• Includes such as reduced eye bagginess, higher muscle tone, reduced jowl sag, little slouching, no shoulder hunching, and decreased belly sag
Preening Behavior
• Stroking one’s hair• Fixing makeup• Fixing clothes• Looking in a mirror• Leaving buttons open on shirts or blouses• Adjusting suit coats• Pulling up socks• Adjusting a tie
Positional Cues
• Reflected in seating arrangements
• How do we position our bodies – open or closed?
Actions of Appeal or Invitation
• Cues such as rolling the pelvis, casting flirtatious glances, holding another’s gaze, crossing a leg to expose one’s thigh, showing one’s wrist or palm, and flexing muscles
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• Steps to Intimacy
Advantages of Immediacy
• Males and females who appear to be more immediate are perceived as more pleasant and friendly than those who are nonimmediate
• More immediate people receive more communication
• People approach and want to communicate more with people who give off cues that say they are more approachable
Disadvantages of Immediacy
• Immediacy leads to more verbal and nonverbal communication
• Immediacy can lead to misperception
• Immediate behavior can lead to negative perceptions for both males and females
Androgyny
• Andros – Greek meaning man
• Gyne – Greek meaning woman
• One who can associate with both masculine and feminine characteristics