female-male nonverbal communication chapter eleven

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