Control and Self-confidence as Reflected in Sex-bound Patterns in Communication: An Experimental Approach

Abstract

Very little of the recent research on 'sex and language' has contributed much to our understanding of the actual nature of these phenomena. There has been a failure to adopt a communication perspective, and the impact of the situation has been ignored. This present study assesses the verbal communication of the four possible dyadic sex combinations (male → male; male → female; female → male; female → female) in two apparently similar, but in reality highly different communication situations, in that while the first is simple and straightforward, a communication conflict is induced in the latter. Whereas the traditional stereotypes concerning 'sex and verbal communication' are clearly reflected in the first situation, a radically different pattern is exposed in the conflict situation. The different sex-bound patterns of communication efficiency across situations are discussed within the framework of general communication theory in terms of the participants' confidence (in self and other) and their manner of exerting control.