This study was conducted to examine the experience of unwanted sexual aggression from both the male and female perspectives. Questionnaires were distributed to 325 students, and of these, 142 wrote free-response narratives describing their most sexually aggressive experience. Two raters scored and analyzed the narratives on the basis of 19 categories for male responses and 16 categories for female responses. Differences between the male and female perception of the experience of unwanted sexual aggression were found on several categories. The results of this study suggest that date rape awareness and prevention programs should emphasize the point that dating and sexual encounters can easily be fraught with miscommunication and misinterpretation, and encourage clearer communication and better understanding.

This study examines the concepts of social style and gender to determine if a relationship exists between the two constructs. The hypotheses suggested a direct relationship between the categories of the BSRI (masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated) and the Social Style Analysis (driver, amiable, expressive, and analytical). Ninety-four participants completed two self-report surveys. Chi-square analysis performed on the data found a significant relationship between feminine and amiable as well as androgynous and expressive. While the analysis suggested that masculine/driver and undifferentiated/analytical were not independent, the relationship found was not significant.

This study investigated cultural differences, U.S.A. and Japan, in the selection of compliance-gaining strategies by lower status people as differentiated from a group leader in a short-term, task-oriented relationship. The subjects for this study consisted of 114 (59 male and 55 female) U.S. college students and 165 (65 male and 100 female} Japanese college students. All subjects lived in Oregon. After the subjects read the hypothetical scenario which involved changing a task for a classroom project, a 21 item questionnaire was administered. The questions were taken from Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson's (1980} study, and a six-point scale was used. The 21 questions were categorized into four compliance-gaining strategies: rationalization, exchange of benefits, ingratiation, and assertion. Rationalization and exchange of benefits were used to test hypotheses regarding culture as a whole. Hypothesis one was "Japanese lower status people who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships will use more rationalization compliance-gaining strategies than U.S. people who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships," while hypothesis two was "U.S. lower status people who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships will use more exchange of benefits compliance-gaining strategies than Japanese lower status people who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships." Ingratiation and assertion were used to test the hypotheses regarding gender in different cultures. Hypothesis three was "U.S. lower status females who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships will use more ingratiation compliance-gaining strategies than Japanese lower status females who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships," and hypothesis four was "U.S. lower status males who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships use more assertion compliance-gaining strategies than Japanese lower status males who are in short-term, task-oriented relationships."

This thesis explores the interactions between women and men who work in highly-skilled blue-collar trades. The aim of this research is to describe women's perceptions and responses to their on-the-job communicative interactions with male co-workers, supervisors and union officials. small focus groups were conducted to produce rich narrative data that was audio recorded for later use by the researcher. The researcher met with the four subjects for three sessions. The interviews lasted three hours each. The researcher also conducted follow-up interviews by phone to clarify subjects' responses. The subjects were provided with an interview schedule of questions prior to the interview. This thesis seeks to identify women's perceptions of male and female differences in communication, perceived problematic communicative interactions and women's responses to perceived differences. This thesis also explores the possible correlation between women's sense of self-esteem and interactions with males on the job. Finally, subjects were interviewed to determine what strategies, if any, are used by women to work more effectively in a predominately male work environment. It was found that this sample of women reported several perceived differences between male and female communication styles and that some differences are problematic. The subjects reported that difficult interactions may result in feelings of anger, frustration, anxiety, hostility or sadness. Finally, the subjects offered several strategies for coping in nontraditional jobs.

Thesis (M.S.) -- University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2006. / Title from title page screen (viewed on Feb. 14, 2007). Thesis advisor: John W. Haas . Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Stereotype threat is the cognitive pressure certain individuals feel when they believe their performance on a particular task might confirm a negative stereotype about their group. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the possible negative influence of stereotype threat on mixed-sex dyadic encounters by objectively and subjectively measuring their verbal accommodation behaviors. Sex-stereotypes were manipulated (men have greater logical intelligence than women; women have greater social intelligence than men) while participants engaged in multiple mixed-sex interactions. Four patterns emerged when analyzing the presence of both objective and subjective communication accommodation behaviors. First, women were more likely than men to objectively demonstrate accommodation behaviors such as hedges, questions, fillers, and back-channel responses. Second, most participants used less accommodation behaviors over time. Third, comparing the objective and subjective expressions of accommodation behaviors revealed no relationship--in other words, people may report one thing, but third-party accounts point toward different results. Finally, the way people judge a stranger's overall character is highly correlated to their perception of his/her verbal accommodation behaviors. This dissertation concludes with future recommendations for interpersonal communication scholars interested in stereotype threat research. / text

Do men and women write differently and if so, do these stylistic differences represent differing world \iews and/or do they indicate divergent decisions that are made by the gendered individual with respect to the positioning inherent in the interactive communicative process? In this thesis I consider how men and women write and interact, as well as the topics of their conversations, by examining the postings that characterize a specific semiotic Internet site: Anthro- L@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu. Created solely by and through language, a net community is the ideal environment in which to conduct a field study which examines the use of gendered language. In cyber 'public' space, where social interaction in largely stripped of bodily cues, net participants rely on the power of discourse to convey the 'self. I shall show that men and women make different choices as to how they will represent themselves in net public space, and that these choices are conveyed through the preference of specific styles of writing. Although conceptualizations of public space, academic praxis, and individual socialization all contribute to stylistic differentials, I illustrate through my methodology that Gender is the master status that primarily informs communicative decisions. 'Legitimate' language in our culture is constructed on the rational paradigm which characterizes public institutions; this paradigm is the fundamental principle which informs our system of [male] Langue. Posting acts on Anthro-L offer evidence that those who do not 'speak', or choose not to speak within the framework of this model, are conceived as 'other1, and are silenced through desertion, by - play and trivialization. / 29 cm.

The growth of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has generated great interest among researchers. Although perspectives vary, the anonymity inherent in textual communication and the reduction of social markers are often described as the characteristics that distinguish CMC from other forms of communication. These arguments have resulted in unprecedented optimism regarding the potential of this technology to eliminate social inequalities and increase access to institutional power. While critics have provided substantial evidence to the contrary, especially in regards to gender inequalities, CMC continues to be promoted and accepted. / Critical responses on the issue of gender have concentrated on behavioral issues. As exemplified by the work of Herring, these issues include, among others, the use of adversarial rhetorical strategies, topical control, representation in electronic communities, and the phenomenon known as "flaming". / Surprisingly, no effort has been made to address the role of gender in the cognitive aspects of CMC or directly question the claims advanced by supporters of this technology in relation to the anonymity of electronic texts. With the exception of Herring's peripheral remarks on this issue and limited work on the problem of gender judgements by Savicki and his colleagues, research is non-existent. / Given the importance of this area for the information professions, this research explores the role of gender in the cognitive processes associated with identification and impression formation. More specifically, this research addresses two concerns. The first is whether CMC users can identify the gender of those they have never met face-to-face by relying exclusively on the detection of gender cues. The second centers on the role of gender in the evaluation of electronic communicators. / Against the perspectives outlined in the feminist critique of technology, this research's theoretical framework is derived from the work of Hymes as well as literature from cognate fields. Thus, Hymes' theoretical model on the concept of communicative competence, which allows competent speakers to pass judgement on the appropriateness of linguistic events, is central to the investigation. / The results provide convincing evidence regarding the implications of gender in the cognitive dimension of CMC. Data from 133 research participants (91 females and 42 males) associated with the study of librarianship or its professional practice suggest that CMC simply recreates existing gender asymmetries. Women are less likely to remain anonymous, more likely to be described stereotypically, and more likely to be evaluated negatively.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which employees attempt to gain information about the relationship they have with their immediate supervisor. Uncertainty level and gender were predicted to be related variables. Prisbell and Andersen's uncertainty measurement scale, revised Baxter and Wilmot relational information-seeking tactics, and an original information-seeking frequency scale were utilized to examine 50 emergency service personnel on uncertainty level, frequency of information-seeking effort, and specific tactic utilization. Pearson product-moment correlations revealed no significant relationship between amount of uncertainty and frequency of information-seeking. Utilization of t-tests revealed no significant difference by gender in the frequency of information-seeking. The MANOVA results indicated no significant differences in the specific tactic utilization of males and females. However, Chi square values and univariate analyses identified the public presentation, joking, and hinting tactics as being used significantly more by males than females. It was recommended that research be continued in the area of working relationships. / Department of Speech Communication

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "August 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 93-101). Online version available on the World Wide Web.