Historically, women have been socialized toward virtue and acceptance, and men have been socialized toward power and competence. M. Brewster Smith contends that opportunity, respect from others, and power must be present in order for one to cultivate a sense of competence. To be successful, the competent woman must combine skills, talents, and a…

The relationship between physical attractiveness and social competence is complex. A study was undertaken to assess the relationship between ratings of physical attractiveness and ratings of conversational skill. Sixty male and 60 female undergraduates viewed tapes depicting 18 heterosocial interactions. Subjects were asked to rate physical…

A study (one of a series) sought to identify interpersonal events related to implicit communication. Implicit communication is defined as nonverbal behavior which serves to transmit "subintended" information. The study explored whether interpersonal roles which account for part of the process of nonverbal communication (and which were…

Investigates how conflict strategies and communicator gender affect two properties of communicative competence, appropriateness and effectiveness, and how these properties are associated with interpersonal attraction. (SR)

In two experiments, participants with and without mental retardation listened to vignettes depicting situations in which a protagonist was faced with a decision involving either a peer or an authority figure. Decision-making tasks were considerably more difficult for the participants with mental retardation. Women in both studies outperformed men.…

Examined use of parental affinity-seeking strategies by high school students (n=246). Results were consistent with Bell and Daly's (1984) constraints dimension of affinity-seeking process, with adolescents employing narrower range of strategies with the parent as familiar target. Additionally, significant differences in use of strategies were…

Explores the differences between boys and girls (5- and 7-year-olds) in their use of two kinds of strategies with interpersonal conflict: (1) active persuasion and negotiation, and (2) mitigation without disrupting social harmony between the interactors. (HOD)

Earlier research investigating the relationship between physical attractiveness and assertiveness found that physically attractive females were more assertive than other females. To investigate this relationship further and to broaden the scope of the study, 69 students were videotaped in groups of five to ten while responding to open-ended…

The argument has been advanced that in intimate self-disclosure sex differences occur with males being less intimately disclosive than females--especially to other males. The argument posits that males who have homophobia (a fear of sexual contact with members of the same sex) might view intimate self-disclosure as a homosexual act and thus avoid…

A study examined the extent of the role communication encounters play in helping people make accurate predictions about others, and what types of communicators (in terms of communicative reponsiveness and gender) seem to profit most from interaction with the subject of prediction prior to making predictions. Subjects, 118 college students,…

A study was conducted to test a "peak communication experience" (PCE) scale developed from Abraham Maslow's theory of PCE's, a model of one's highest interpersonal communication moments in terms of perceived mutual understanding, happiness, and personal fulfillment. Nineteen items, extrapolated from Maslow's model but rendered more…

Examined adolescents' verbal and nonverbal behavior in 30 female-male dyads. All behaviors were coded. Analysis of videotaped interactions revealed more similarities between girls and boys than differences, although gender distinctions were evident in speaking time and in smiling. Results focus on developmental and contextual accounts of…

Differences in men's and women's communication styles affect their interactions with each other. Organizations must be flexible enough to recognize situations in which traditional male values of competition may be most functional and those in which more collaborative, female strategies are more appropriate. Personnel training can help ensure that…

A study was conducted to determine if (1) significant gender differences exist in prevalence of deception, motivation for deception, and recipients of deception; and (2) whether such differences support traditional gender role perceptions and expectations. Seventy-four subjects, 50 female and 24 male undergraduate students, recorded all instances…

Recent research suggesting a link between loneliness and social networks and a difference between males and females in both the quantity and quality of relationships support the view that loneliness can be predicted by gender from social network variables. In one study, two samples were used to explore gender differences. Sample 1, 97 males and 82…