Deck 8: Language, Communication, and Emotion

Question 1

Which of the following best describes sex differences in conversational interruptions?

A) Large sex differences emerge in favor of men interrupting more than women.
B) Effect sizes vary in size and direction depending on how interruptions are measured.
C) Men interrupt more but only in conversations with other men.
D) Men and women interrupt each other at roughly equivalent rates.

Answer 1

Effect sizes vary in size and direction depending on how interruptions are measured.

Question 2

Gossip serves each of the following social functions EXCEPT ______.

A) enforcing a group's moral norms
B) enhancing social bonds
C) relational aggression
D) threatening social identities

Answer 2

threatening social identities

Question 3

Reviews of sex differences in communication reveal that women are more likely to ______.

A) speak more words per day
B) use gossip as a form of relational aggression
C) interrupt others
D) speak in passive voice

Answer 3

use gossip as a form of relational aggression

Question 4

Wasserman and Weseley (2009) found that bilingual students reported more sexist attitudes when they completed a survey in ______ than ______.

A) non-gendered languages; gendered languages
B) gendered languages; non-gendered languages
C) Western languages; Eastern languages
D) Eastern languages; Western languages

Question 5

What did Nowak (2003) discover regarding people's ability to predict whether interaction partners were male or female based on written text alone?

A) Female participants could accurately predict their partners' sex but not male participants.
B) Participants accurately predicted the sex of the texts' author, but only when communication was synchronous.
C) Participants predicted with 80% accuracy whether the text was written by a male or female.
D) Participants were no better than chance at guessing whether the text was written by a male or female.

Question 6

Nations that have gendered languages also have lower levels of ______.

A) religiosity
B) violent crime
C) sexism
D) gender equality

Question 7

Which of the following sex differences in written communication did Koppel and colleagues (2002) computer analysis of female and male writers discover?

A) Sentences written by men are 20% longer those written by women.
B) Men use more concrete language.
C) Women use more communal prepositions (e.g., "with").
D) Women's writing tends to be more grammatically correct.

Question 8

The idea that differences in socialization lead boys and girls to develop different communication styles is represented by ______.

A) differences in grammatical gender
B) the Whorfian hypothesis
C) the sociocultural model of communication
D) the different cultures approach

Question 9

Referring to adult women as girls is a common example of ______.

A) diminutives
B) hostile sexism
C) gender stereotypes
D) coverture

Question 10

The Whorfian hypothesis proposes that ______.

A) the language we use may cause us to see the world differently than people who use another language
B) that mental imagery precedes language construction
C) the meaning of language is derived from social and cultural usage
D) words corresponds to rigid categories of objects that serve to schematically organize the contents of thought

Question 11

Frazer and Miller's (2008) found that newspapers were more likely to use ______ when describing partner violence perpetrated by males than by females.

A) active voice
B) passive voice
C) detailed adjectives
D) mugshots

Question 12

Which of the following findings does NOT provide direct support for the Whorfian hypothesis?

A) People who speak in languages with grammatical gender report more sexist beliefs.
B) Bilingual individuals are less likely to endorse sexist beliefs.
C) Use of generic masculine language increases beliefs and gender stereotypes.
D) Having a broader vocabulary for appearance related words specifically directed at females is associated with focusing on women's appearance.

Question 13

Stout and Dasgupta (2011) found that use of generic masculine language in interviews can have what effect?

A) increase men's motivation and identification with the job
B) decrease women's feelings of belongingness
C) increase hypothetical salaries offered to men
D) decrease the interviewer's ratings of women's suitability for the job

Question 14

One might change the phrase "to boldly go where no man has gone before" to "to boldly go where no one has gone before" in order to not use language reflecting ______.

A) political correctness
B) the generic masculine
C) benevolent sexism
D) Whorfian norms

Question 15

Holleran (2009) analysis of daily conversations revealed what regarding sex differences in the number of words spoken per day?

A) Men spoke more words on average than women.
B) Women spoke more words on average than men.
C) Men spoke more words in the morning but women spoke more in the evening.
D) On average both men and women spoke the same number of words per day.

Question 16

In conversation, males are more likely to use ______ interruptions and females more likely to use ______ interruptions.

A) intrusive; supportive
B) hostile; benevolent
C) logical; emotional
D) agentic; communal

Question 17

Research shows that when stigmatized groups reappropriate and label themselves with derogatory words they ______.

A) are more likely to be targeted with discrimination
B) both feel and are viewed as more powerful
C) report enhanced physical health
D) no longer feel negative emotions when others use those words in a derogatory manner

Question 18

Moshe Koppel and colleagues (2002) created a computer program to test whether men and women use language differently. To what extent could the computer program accurately identify whether something was written by man or woman?

A) no better than chance (about 50% accuracy)
B) well above chance (about 80% accuracy)
C) 80% accuracy but only for fictional writing
D) 80% accuracy but only for nonfiction writing

Question 19

Analyses indicate that the language use by reporters when describing domestic violence may unknowingly have what effect?

A) increased blame associated with male perpetrators
B) increased blame associated with female victims
C) increase the influence of gender stereotypes
D) decrease awareness of domestic abuse

Question 20

Linguist Nic Subtirelu found that authors use the trait ______ more often to describe women than men and the trait ______ more often to describe men and women.

A) conscientious; extraverted
B) nagging; controlling
C) paranoid; bossy
D) pushy; condescending

Question 21

Overall, each of the following is TRUE of sex differences in nonverbal communication EXCEPT ______.

A) Men displayed more dominant nonverbal behaviors.
B) Women show more other oriented nonverbal behaviors.
C) Sex differences in nonverbal communication are larger than differences in verbal communication.
D) Female typical nonverbal behaviors mirror lower status nonverbal behaviors.

Question 22

Which of the following sex differences in communication has a medium effect size, emerges in childhood and continues into adulthood, and is consistent across culture?

A) men using more assertive language than women
B) women smiling more than men
C) women using more emotional language than men
D) men interrupting more during conversation

Question 23

Women are stereotyped as more nonverbally ______ than men.

A) assertive
B) cold
C) confrontational
D) expressive

Question 24

Same-sex touching tends to be more acceptable among women than men EXCEPT in what contexts?

A) in sports
B) in Western cultures
C) among close friends
D) in private instead of public

Question 25

Which of the following is NOT true of sex differences in eye contact?

A) Men are more likely than women to look away from women while they speak to them.
B) Women gaze at their interaction partners more than men do.
C) People gaze at women more than men.
D) The highest amount of mutual eye contact tends to occur among pairs of women.

Question 26

Biologically speaking, girls and boys tend to display differences in temperament early in infancy, with boys showing higher ______ and girls showing higher ______.

A) extroversion; introversion
B) aggression; social selectivity
C) arousal; impulse control
D) capacity to delay gratification; affiliation traits

Question 27

Suppose a researcher finds that women are more likely to report experiencing emotions such as sadness and men are more likely to report experiencing anger. But when she examines physiological indicators of these same emotions, she finds no sex differences. What is the most likely explanation for this inconsistency?

A) Emotions cannot be accurately assessed physiologically.
B) People's self-reports of emotions may be influenced by gender stereotypes.
C) Participants are lying about their experiences to influence the results.
D) The original self-reported findings were likely a statistical fluke.

Question 28

People can accurately identify someone's sex simply by examining ______.

A) their gait
B) the content of their speech
C) moral judgments
D) explanatory styles

Question 29

Each of the followings tend to show small sex differences favoring women EXCEPT ______.

A) affiliative speech
B) self-disclosure
C) tentative speech
D) talkativeness

Question 30

Individuals with different language or dialect options across multiple identities tend to engage in ______.

A) code switching
B) cross-sectional linguistics
C) gender-neutral cognition
D) stereotypical attributions

Question 31

Consider stereotypes the paint female speech as expressive and male speech as assertive. Overall, to what extent does the evidence support such sex differences in communication?

A) Sex differences in the stereotypical direction are real, with effect sizes typically in the medium range.
B) Differences in the stereotypical direction do sometimes emerge, but they are small and dependent upon context.
C) Meta-analyses reveal no overall sex differences, with for instance, findings of male speech being more expressive than female speech being just as common as the reverse.
D) The evidence actually supports sex differences in the opposite direction of common stereotypes.

Question 32

Openly expressing emotions is more or less acceptable across different cultures because they have different ______.

A) gender equality
B) display rules
C) average levels of educational attainment
D) facial expressions for each emotion

Question 33

Which of the following is an example of code switching?

A) a person who is able to switch back and forth between different gender identities
B) a rapid shift in cultural or moral norms, such as changes in views toward same-sex relationships among people in the United States
C) Black college students switching between standard English and vernacular Black English to emphasize credibility in the classroom and Black identity respectively
D) someone who has lived in multiple cultures throughout his or her life and maintains separate cognitive schemas for each

Question 34

Henley (1995) found Black women in the United States tend to use more ______ language than White women.

A) assertive
B) emotional
C) relational
D) concrete

Question 35

Samar and Alibakshi (2007) found that, in a sample of Iranian men and women, individuals with more ______ raised more topics (a sign of dominance) in mixed sex conversations.

A) education
B) friends
C) traditional gender views
D) social skills

Question 36

Schwarz and colleagues (2013) created word clouds to represent male and female communication based on 700 million words, phrases, and topics sample from social media. According to the word clouds, which of the following words were men more likely to say?

A) excited
B) science
C) xbox
D) tv

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT true of sex differences in self-disclosure?

A) Women disclose more than men do to female partners.
B) There is no sex difference in self-disclosure to male partners.
C) Men disclose slightly more to same-sex partners than women do.
D) Women disclose more to same-sex others than men do.

Question 38

Having a dominant personality tends to correspond with what aspect of communication style?

A) speaking with more nonverbal and hand gestures
B) making eye contact while you are speaking to someone
C) using more expressive language
D) preferring larger personal space during interactions

Question 39

Tanya Vacharkilksemsuk and colleagues (2016) found that ______ body postures helped both men and women seem more attractive during speed dating

A) submissive
B) dominant
C) expansive
D) socially distant

Question 40

Analyses of how men and women communicate on social media reveals each of the following EXCEPT ______.

A) men use more profanity than women do
B) women use more emotion words
C) men use more assertive language
D) women use less argumentative language

Question 41

Gendered language influencing social expectations and perceptions is inconsistent with the Whorfian hypothesis.

Question 42

During interactions girls and women tend to touch more and report greater comfort with being touched.

Question 43

______ refers to the nonverbal communication of emotion in a clear manner that others can easily interpret.

A) Decoding accuracy
B) Encoding accuracy
C) Code switching
D) Paralinguistics

Question 44

Reviews of sex differences in emotional intelligence find (1) men estimate their emotional intelligence is ______ than women do (2) women score ______ than men on measures of emotional intelligence.

A) higher; higher
B) higher; lower
C) lower; higher
D) lower; lower

Question 45

People can accurately identify someone's sex just by seeing their gait (how they walk).

Question 46

At what age are sex differences in decoding accuracy largest?

A) infancy
B) childhood
C) adolescence
D) adulthood

Question 47

Nations that have gendered languages have lower levels of gender equality compared to nations that speak genderless languages.

Question 48

The finding that women smile more than men is consistent across culture.

Question 49

Differences in ______ encourage(s) the expression of different emotions for boys and girls at a young age.

A) play patterns
B) the likelihood of playing in same-sex groups
C) the amount of freedom allowed
D) popularity

Question 50

Greater permissibility of emotional expression in individualistic cultures primarily extends to what group?

A) women
B) men
C) people of color
D) cisgender, hetereosexuals

Question 51

Female typical nonverbal behaviors, such as nodding and smiling, differ between high and low status individuals.

Question 52

The capacity to understand the minds of others and to know what they are thinking describes the ______ aspects of empathy.

A) emotional
B) cognitive
C) narrative
D) somatic

Question 53

Girls and women, compared to boys and men, more often use gossip as a form of relational aggression.

Question 54

Which of the following conditions produces the largest sex differences in empathic accuracy?

A) When participants know they are being evaluated on empathy
B) When empathy is evaluated during childhood
C) In countries high in gender equality
D) When examined outside the lab, in field studies

Question 55

In Eastern cultures too much eye contact can signify disrespect.

Question 56

Brescoll and Uhlman (2008) found that women who expressed anger in the workplace were ______ relative to men who expressed anger.

A) more respected
B) recommended lower salaries
C) granted higher social status
D) more socially excluded

Question 57

Livingston and Pierce (2009) argued that Black men who appear physically nonthreatening may have an advantage in seeking high status positions over other Black men because ______.

A) they are less likely to make White men feel like they are losing relative status
B) in general, people prefer appointing baby faced individuals to high status positions
C) nonthreatening faces tend to be viewed as more competent by racial out groups
D) they do not activate stereotypes about Black men as aggressive

Question 58

Beginning to cry after seeing a stranger crying upon the death of her dog is an example of ______.

A) cognitive empathy
B) emotional contagion
C) encoding accuracy
D) codes switching

Question 59

In general, sex differences in nonverbal behaviors are fairly consistent with gender role stereotypes and expectations.

Question 60

The "different cultures approach" would predict that, upon close examination, gender differences in communication style will be small and trivial.

Question 61

Describe what emotional intelligence is and briefly summarize what sex differences, if any, emerge with respect to emotional intelligence.

Question 62

Research on display rules reveals that women face social penalties for expressing sadness and men face penalties for expressing anger.

Question 63

Simpson and Stroh (2004) found what difference among male and female managers likelihoods of expressing or suppressing positive versus negative emotions?

Question 64

What makes the question, "Who is more emotional - women or men?" complicated and difficult to answer? Explain two different ways of interpreting this question, then provide an answer for whether men or women are more emotional according to both interpretations. Support you answer with research findings.

Question 65

Researchers find no sex differences in the expression of affiliative emotions, such as sympathy and warmth.

Question 66

What is meant by the "generic masculine?" Provide an example and explain how it relates to the Whorfian hypothesis.

Question 67

How do psychologists define gossip and what kind of sex differences exist in the tendency to engage in gossip?

Question 68

What is the Whorfian hypothesis? Describe the results of two studies that support the Whorfian hypothesis and explain why they support it.

Question 69

Women, relative to men, consistently show greater brain activity in response to witnessing others suffer.

Question 70

On average, women are more talkative than men.

Question 71

Explain how patterns in the use of passive voice when describing domestic violence and rape affect blame attributed to victims and perpetrators.

Question 72

Explain why the literature on sex differences in interruptions appears mixed and conflicting. What do meta-analyses of sex differences in interruptions conclude? Are there types of interruptions that show consistent sex differences? If so, describe them and explain when men and women may each be more likely to interrupt.

Question 73

Charles Darwin was one first scientists to write about the importance of emotion and expression in communication.

Question 74

Schwarz and colleagues sample of 700 million words, phrases, and topics in Facebook messages created word clouds to visually represent male and female communication. Briefly summarize sex differences in these word clouds.

Question 75

Describe what kind of sex differences, if any, researchers examining smiling and eye contact have discovered. Include in your summary a description of one study relevant to smiling and one relevant to eye contact. To what extent are these sex differences affected by culture?