Verified Document

Gender-Based Communication Differences In Her Essay

Those conversations also invariably include expressions of success or confidence as well. However, they discuss their feelings and those of others relatively rarely. In many cases, even the closest of male friends maintain a relationship that is sustained largely by common interests such as in sports or recreational interests. They may know one another for many years without ever really discussing their feelings or their intimate thoughts about personal matters. Women, tend to do the exact opposite, focussing on discussions about people instead of inanimate objects or impersonal interests. Close female friends typically know everything there is to know about one another and they invariably know one another better and more fully than their respective husbands or boyfriends know them. As Tanner explains, these tendencies are likely functions of both biology and social learning. From the evolutionary biological perspective, males would have had to worry more about projecting their strength and dominance to groups; in many respects, the same analogous behaviors are apparent in many primates in the way that they express their dominance with their body language and vocalizations. Men would also have had a need to be able to communicate information in the most direct possible way, particularly in connection with hunting and protecting their clans against outside threats. Conversely, females...

Similarly, women would have evolved more communicative nonverbal mannerisms to communicate most effectively with other members of their families, groups, and clans.
Conclusion

Author Deborah Tannen provides a very clear explanation detailing the way that men and women tend to differ in their communication styles. She argues that men focus on discussing things and on exchanging substantive information; that is evidenced by the manner in which men position themselves in one-on-one conversations and in the content of their conversations. Generally, men communicate about things and they tend to include expressions of their personal success and aptitude. She explains that women communicate through a much broader range of communication tools besides words and that is evident in the way that women respond to facial expressions and in their natural skills at understanding and communicating with infants in the pre-verbal stages. While these tendencies share likely evolutionary origins, they are also almost certainly also products of social learning in that male children are encouraged to pursue competitive sports and active hobbies while female children are encouraged to engage in more passive and communicative activities.

Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Psychology -- Gender-Based Communications Differences
Words: 1160 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Women perceive their gossip as conversing regarding something/someone. To them, gossiping regarding a particular person not close to them only strengthens shared principles and global perspectives. Male humans perceive women's gossip as conversing against somebody/something. Although men take serious topics such as business and politics whilst a topic such as kid-bearing is tagged unimportant, it is basically a replication of social principles that describe what they do. In other

Gender-Based Communication Styles Gender-Based Differences in Interpersonal...
Words: 1532 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Gender-Based Communication Styles GENDER-BASED DIFFERENCES IN INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS This project consists of an observational study intended to identify and compare the differences in social interaction styles between the genders. The study endeavored to compare the various components of interpersonal communication, such as body language, eye contact and physical gestures among various subjects observed in a university courtyard frequented by students as well as by university instructors and visitors. The experimenter monitored the ways

Communication Differences of Men and Women: Interpersonal Communication...
Words: 2222 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Communication Differences of Men and Women That women and men communicate very differently is an idea that has attracted the attention of the media since the 1990s. The debate has been so intense and the variations so apparent, that such books as 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus', which postulate that the two genders must have originated from different planets, have become some of the century's bestsellers. It is

Gender Differences in Communication the
Words: 758 Length: 2 Document Type: Journal

). Women, because they have a cooperative approach, may offer advice even when that advice has not been sought. These basic differences can lead to some of the major communications problems between men and women. When women offer unsolicited advice to men, the men may feel as if their competence or ability is being questioned (vom Saal, unk.). On the other hand, when a man offers solutions to a woman,

Communication Differences Develop a Two-Page
Words: 938 Length: 2 Document Type: Term Paper

However, gender expectations of different nations can impede free and open discussion in intercultural communications, if a particular culture has yet to accept that it is appropriate for women to confidently assume positions of authority. Although cross-cultural communication presents a challenge, globalization has made understanding the difference between high-context and low-context cultures even more vital than ever before. Implied meanings in different cultures have different levels of signification, based upon

Gender-Based Differences in Communication Styles
Words: 554 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

In intimate relationships, men still communicate through the same direct methods but they have tremendous difficulty expressing more personal thoughts and feelings to their partners. They may throw themselves into work to support their families as an expression of their love but they have a much harder time expressing their love verbally. Meanwhile, women tend to rely on the same metamessages such as by communicating their feelings and needs to

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now