Gender Differences in Nonverbal Communication

The Gender Differences in Nonverbal Communication

Abstract

Introduction

Aim/ Purpose

Theory

Participants

Procedure

Results

Conclusion

References

Abstract

This research will attempt to test the hypothesis whether there is gender difference in use of non verbal communication between male and female with use of gestures. The participants were 47 males and 26 females, individuals comprising of 20 males and 20 females, categorized separately, all above the age of 21.The Individuals were all found in a social bar setting located in downtown San Jose. The participants were between the ages of 21 and 40, this is just an approximation because the participants were not approached or inquired.

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For the purpose of this study, nonverbal communication was defined as communication other than written or spoken, such as hand gestures. Hand gestures were only recorded when there was a definite distinction between the end of one gesture and the beginning of another. The difference in the mean of hand gestures used by men (M=2.85, SD=3.18) and the mean number of hand gestures used by women (M= 6.9, SD=6.24) was statistically significant t(38)=2.59, p < 0.05,two tailed. The data collected did support our hypothesis that women would use more hand gestures than men. There is a significant difference in the number of hand gestures used by women and men.

Introduction

According to Briton and Hall (2005), in a very general sense, non-verbal communication simply includes all forms of communication, which are not achieved purely through the use of words or other symbols that perform the same task as words. This has been emphasized by Semnani-Azad, & Adair, (2011), who reiterate that this is simply not a reference to our behavior (although, of course, some people do act like animals). It is a reference to the fact that humans are biological creatures, as much as crocodiles, cougars, and capybara (Semnani-Azad, & Adair, 2011). We are the product of millions of years of evolution, our physical make-up changing to make us fitter to survive and reproduce.

Aim/ Purpose

This Essay will attempt to analyse whether a gender difference exist in use of verbal communication between male and female this can contribute towards understanding the literature about the elements of non verbal communication. Although humans are animals, we also have something that no other animal has: the most complex social structure on Earth (Eriksson, et al., 2012). We gather in families, tribes, clans, and nations. We have an incredibly sophisticated method of interacting speech. We can communicate over time and distance through printing and broadcasting. Our memories are the longest, our interactions the most intricate, our perception of the world simultaneously the broadest and most detailed (Semnani-Azad, & Adair, 2011).

The difference between humans and other animals is that, unlike any other animal (as far as we know), we can and do consciously respond or alter our response to a stimulus (Keogh, 2014). The greatest example lies in the existence of amusement parks, where people deliberately subject themselves to stimuli that any other creature on earth would go to great lengths to avoid (Van Beek, Van Dolderen, & Dubas, 2006). Imagine, if you can, the reaction of a dog to a roller coaster. If it did not leap out at the first movement, it would cringe in bottom of the car until it probably had a heart attack.

Regardless of the occasional demarcation disputes, non-verbal communication occurs within the same basic framework (i.e. output, transmission and input, to condense thousands of pages into three words) as does communication, which is dependent on discrete symbols such as words (Keogh, 2014).

Mehrabian found that, on average, words contributed 7% of the total influence on this assessment, while tone of voice and visual clues contributed 38% and 55% respectively. These three aspects of communication are sometimes referred to as “verbal, vocal and visual” (or “the three Vs”).

It is not always immediately obvious whether an instance of communication should be considered verbal or non-verbal (Caspi, Chajut, & Saporta, 2008). Some gestures have agreed meanings which are at least as precise as those of some words. Perhaps, like writing and signing, specific gestures should be considered as verbal communication via the visual input. By the same token, a word which is screamed loudly and harshly could be thought of as non-verbal communication via the auditory input – especially if its meaning did not fit the context (Eriksson, et al., 2012).

Another way of looking at this issue is to consider whether the meaning is explicit (precisely defined) or implicit (imprecisely evoked). Words are usually explicit, and gestures are usually implicit. However, in the above examples, the gestures were examples of largely explicit communication, and the screamed word was an example of largely implicit communication.

Gender Differences in Nonverbal Communication has always been an important skill that all people should develop. Previous studies have hinted at the idea that men and women communicate differently. Spangler, (1995) suggested that women tend to be better at using and decoding nonverbal communicating cues, especially facial expressions. In a stereotypical beliefs study by Caspi, Chajut, and Saporta, (2008), it was suggested that women were believed to use the face and hands to express their ideas more than men. While another study by Schmid, Schmid Mast, Bombari, and Mast, (2011) suggested that women are believed to employ more expressive and involve more nonverbal communication than men, and that they are more skilled at sending and receiving nonverbal messages.

Theory

Nonverbal communication represents two-thirds of all communication. Nonverbal communication can portray a message both verbally and with the correct body signals. Body signals comprise physical features, conscious and unconscious gestures and signals, and the mediation of personal space .The wrong message can be established if the body language conveyed does not match a verbal message. In this research, women are more likely than men to perceive touch from opposite-gender strangers as unpleasant and an invasion of privacy. Moreover, the more women perceive a touch as sexual from a male stranger, the less they perceive the touch as warm and friendly; whereas, the more men perceive a touch as sexual from a female stranger, the more they perceive it as warm, pleasant, and friendly (for a review, see Hertenstein et al. 2006b).

In the present study, we tested predictions regarding gender differences in the accuracy with which individuals can communicate distinct emotions through touch in human communication, relying on previously published data (Hertenstein et al. 2006). This study included the requisite four different dyad groups (encoder-decoder): female–female, female–male, male–male, and male–female. Overall accuracy across 12 emotions did not vary by gender, as reported in the original article. However, gender differences were not analyzed for each emotion separately. These aggregate analyses limited the inferences that could be made regarding gender differences in the communication of emotion via touch. In the present study, we analyzed each of the emotions separately focusing on two emotions that evolutionary and social role accounts both suggest should vary by gender: sympathy and anger. We also focused on happiness, an emotion that has shown consistent gender differences (e.g., LaFrance et al 2003).

Researchers have documented empirical support for such stereotypes (Brody and Hall 2000); women report experiencing more happiness than men (Brody 1993) and they smile more than men (Hall et al. 2002; LaFrance et al. 2003). Predicated upon theory and the empirical work demonstrating that women experience and express more positive emotionality than men, we predicted that dyads comprised solely of females would communicate happiness with touch at above-chance levels.

In summary, based on theoretical and empirical evidence reviewed above, we made predictions regarding three different emotions: sympathy, anger, and happiness. More specifically, we predicted that when females are in an experimental dyad, sympathy will be decoded at above-chance levels. We also predicted that dyads involving males would accurately communicate anger with touch. Finally, we predicted that dyads comprised solely of females would accurately communicate happiness with touch.

Participants

The participants were 47 males and 26 females, individuals comprising of 20 males and 20 females, categorized separately, all above the age of 21.The Individuals were all found in a social bar setting located in downtown San Jose. The participants were between the ages of 21 and 40, this is just an approximation because the participants were not approached or inquired. In order to further investigate the idea that women have better communication skills than men, my partner and I constructed a study where 40 participants were observed. Twenty men and 20 women who were in a bar setting were observed for 2 minutes each. While the individuals were engaged in a conversation, the two-minute timer was set and the amount of times hand gestures used were tallied. We hypothesized that because women have better communication skills than men, that women will have a higher average use of hand gestures than men.

Procedure

While in a highly social setting, 36 males and 26 females were identified and observed. As the observers we identified the male or female participant and set our timers for two minutes. Making our observation as discreet as possible, every use of nonverbal

Communication was recorded. For the purpose of this study, nonverbal communication was defined as communication other than written or spoken, such as hand gestures. Hand gestures were only recorded when there was a definite distinction between the end of one gesture and the beginning of another.

The chi-square (pronounced ‘kai’) distribution is the most commonly used method of comparing proportions. It is symbolized by the Greek letter chi or c ²). This test makes it possible to determine whether the difference exists between two groups and their preference or likelihood of doing something is real or just a chance occurrence. In other words, it determines whether a relationship or association exists between being in one of the two groups and the behavior or characteristic under study. If in a survey of 692 respondents, we asked whether or not they are interested attending attractions and events that deal with history and heritage during their vacation, and we wanted to determine whether there is a difference in how men and women respond to this question, we could calculate a chi-square.

C ² determines the differences between the observed (f_o) and expected frequencies (f_e). The observed frequencies are the actual survey results, whereas the expected frequencies refer to the hypothetical distribution based on the overall proportions between the two characteristics if the two groups are alike. For example, if we have the following survey results:

Choose 1 data set and use this data for the research report for NVC

Date set 1:

Observed frequencies

Then we can calculate our expected frequencies (f_e) based on the proportion of respondents who said ‘yes’ versus ‘no’. It can also be calculated for each cell by the row total with the column total divided by the grand total

This second table, we hypothesized that because women have better communication skills than men, they will have a higher average use of hand gestures than men, also representing the null hypothesis or H_o. (Therefore, if a study says that it “fails to reject the null hypothesis”, it means that no relationship was found to exist between the variables under study.)

Hence, the calculation is as follows:

The critical value for a level of significance of .05 (or 95% level of confidence, the normal level in this type of research) is 3.841. This means that you are confident that 95% of the distribution falls below this critical value. Since our result is above this value, we can:

• Reject the null hypothesis that no difference exists between interest in attending historical attractions and events and gender (in other words, there is a difference between genders); and
• Conclude that the differences in the groups are statistically significant (or not due to chance)

You will not need to memorize all the critical values since computer programs such as SPSS will not only calculate the c ² values for you, but will also give you the precise level of observed significance (known as p value), which in our case is .039. If this level of significance is above the standard .05 level of statistical significance, you are dealing with a statistically significant relationship. Increasing your understanding of non-verbal communication is the first step in improving your own use and comprehension of this vital aspect of interpersonal interaction. In order to determine the difference between the average amount of nonverbal communication used between men and women, my partner and I constructed an observational study where 40 selected participants were observed for 2 minutes each within a bar setting. The sample group of participants consisted of 20 males and 20 females. The study showed that there was a significant difference in the amount of times women use hand gestures in comparison to the amount of times men use hand gestures

Results

The difference in the mean of hand gestures used by men (M=2.85, SD=3.18) and the mean number of hand gestures used by women (M= 6.9, SD=6.24) was statistically significant t(38)=2.59, p < 0.05,two tailed.

The data collected did support our hypothesis that women would use more hand gestures than men. There is a significant difference in the number of hand gestures used by women and men. We believed that women would use more hand gestures than men because of the stereotype, that women are more social and outgoing than men. Women are also believed to express their feelings more than men, which we believed is connected to the way women communicate and the amount of hand gestures they use.

Conclusion

I believe that further research in this area would be extremely helpful in analyzing why women are better at expressing themselves. Some of the sampling problems in this study could have been that the individuals being observed may have mild case of Tourette’s syndrome that causes to have constant movement, that movement could have easily been confused for a hand gesture. Another sampling problem could have been the attempt to grab a drink or a straw could have been counted as a hand gesture, when the gesture had nothing to do with communication.

References

1. Briton, N J, & Hall, J A (2005). Beliefs about female and male nonverbal communication. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 32, 79(12). Retrieved November 5, 2008, from Expanded Academic ASAP Database.
2. Caspi, A., Chajut, E., & Saporta, K. (2008). Participation in Class and in Online Discussions: Gender Differences.Computers & Education,50(3), 718-724.
3. Eriksson, M., Marschik, P. B., Tulviste, T., Almgren, M., Perez Pereira, M., Wehberg, S., & … Gallego, C. (2012). Differences between Girls and Boys in Emerging Language Skills: Evidence from 10 Language Communities.British Journal Of Developmental Psychology,30(2), 326-343.
4. Keogh, E. (2014). Gender differences in the nonverbal communication of pain: A new direction for sex, gender, and pain research?.Pain.
5. Schmid, P., Schmid Mast, M., Bombari, D., & Mast, F. (2011). Gender Effects in Information Processing on a Nonverbal Decoding Task.Sex Roles,65(1/2), 102-107.
6. Semnani-Azad, Z., & Adair, W. L. (2011). The Display of ‘Dominant’ Nonverbal Cues in Negotiation: The Role of Culture and Gender.International Negotiation,16(3), 451-479.
7. Spangler, L. (1995). Gender-Specific Nonverbal Communication: Impact for Speaker Effectiveness.Human Resource Development Quarterly,6(4), 409-419.
8. Van Beek, Y., Van Dolderen, M. M., & Demon Dubas, J. S. (2006). Gender-Specific Development of Nonverbal Behaviours and Mild Depression in Adolescence.Journal Of Child Psychology And Psychiatry,47(12), 1272-1283.

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