COMM 126 Quiz 2

Functions of nonverbal communication

they repeat, contradict, complement, replace, or accent a verbal message

The three kinds of relationship meaning nonverbal cues send

Liking, Responsiveness, Power

Liking (relationship nonverbal cues send)

warmth and closeness

Responsiveness (relationship nonverbal cues send)

Interest and attention

Power (relationship nonverbal cues send)

Space, touch, and volume

Artifacts

Objects and clothing that express identity. Women’s clothing often draws attention to the body; men’s allow easy movement

Proxemics & Territory

How we use space. People with more power control more space, and men enter women’s spaces more often than the reverse

Haptics

Touch. Parents touch daughters more gently and often; boys learn touch as control and power

Kinesics

Face, eye, and body movement.

Feminine Kinesics

smiling, head tilts, taking up less space

Male Kinesics

big gestures, spreading out

Paralanguage

How we say something: pitch, volume, tone, accent. Pitch differences are partly learned, not only biology.

Physical appearance

Cultural body ideals. Women are pressured to be thin and look good all the time; men are increasingly pressured toward a muscular ideal

Decoding & Standpoint Theory

Women tend to read nonverbal cues more accurately. Standpoint theory says people with less power learn to read those with more

Gender Identity & Identification

Gender identity is your inner sense of your gender. Children tend to model themselves on the people who care for them.

Ego boundaries

where you end, and others begin.
Permeable boundaries (feminine): you feel others’ feelings as your own
Firm boundaries (masculine): you sympathize, but stay separate

Parental communication

Parents teach gender through talk, toys, chores, and praise.
Mothers tend to comfort and talk; fathers’ play tends to push competition, risk, and independence.
Boys get more rigid socialization than girls.

Parental modeling

Children learn gender roles by watching what the adults around them do

Themes of Masculinity

Don’t be feminine; be successful; be aggressive; be sexual; be self-reliant; embody and transcend traditional masculinity at once

Themes of Femininity

Appearance still counts; be sensitive and caring; negative treatment by others; be superwomen; there is no single meaning of feminine anymore

Growing up outside conventional genders

Trans and gender-nonconforming young people often face isolation, few role models, and spaces built for two boxes; acceptance from family and school matters

Gendered expectations in school

Boys may struggle to sit still early and face peer pressure not to study

Girls face bias in math and science and are missing from many curricula

LGBTQ+ students face spaces built for two boxes

Gender isn’t the whole story

The gap between rich and poor students is bigger than the gap between boys and girls

Hidden curriculum

The unwritten rules of school, which are easier for students whose families already know them

Title IX

A law banning sex discrimination at schools that receive federal money.

In sports, it requires fair chance to play, scholarships in proportion to who participates, and fair practice times, coaching, and equipment

Title IX Sport’s requirements

Fair chances to play, scholarships in proportion to who participates, and fair practice times, coaching, and equipment

Effortless perfection

Pressure on college women to be smart, fit, beautiful, and popular without ever looking like they tried

Culture of romance

Peer pressure that ranks attracting a partner above school or career

Masculine peer groups

Men’s peer groups often push drinking and sex, doing as a group what members might not do alone

Closeness in dialogue

Building friendship mainly through talk: sharing feelings, problems, and daily life, often face to face

Closeness in the doing

Building friendships through shared activities and helping each other out, often side by side

Covert intimacy

showing affection indirectly, through teasing, playful competition, or joking

Male deficit vs. alternate paths model

Male deficit model says men are worse at closeness because they talk less.

Alternate paths model says there are different, equally valid paths to closeness

Feminine Ruler

Measuring closeness by how much people talk, which makes doing-based friendships look shallow

Demand-withdraw

One partner pushes to talk about the relationship, and the other pulls away. Linked to wanting connection vs. wanting autonomy.

Second shift

The extra housework and childcare women tend to do after their paid work

Psychological responsibility

The bigger earner usually has more power

Same-sex couples tend to share chores more equally. Couples who share home life equally are the most satisfied.

Collective dating app use

People often use dating apps with friends, not alone

In this qualitative study, men played conquest games (matches as the score), and women swiped together and joked about profiles, which helped them manage safety risks

Homophobic name calling and gender identity

Sixth graders who were called homophobic names in the fall felt less similar to their own gender by spring

They changed how they saw themselves, not only how they acted

Looking-glass self

We see ourselves the way we think others see us

Peer messages can become part of our self-concept

Dual identity

DeLay et al.’s way of measuring gender identity; how similar you feel to your own gender and to the other gender