Campbell Leaper

A Meta-Analytic Review of Gender Variations in Children's Language Use: Talkativeness, Affiliative Speech, and Assertive Speech.

Three sets of meta-analyses examined gender effects on childrens language use. Each set of analyses considered an aspect of speech that is considered to be gender typed: talkativeness, affiliative speech, and assertive speech. Statistically significant average effect sizes were obtained with all three language constructs. On average, girls were slightly more talkative and used more affiliative speech than did boys, whereas boys used more assertive speech than did girls. However, the average effect sizes were either negligible (talkativeness, d=0.11; assertive speech, d=0.11) or small (affiliative speech, d=0.26). Larger effect sizes were indicated for some language constructs depending on either the operational definition of the language measure, the method of recording, the childs age level, the interaction partner (adult or peer), group size, gender composition, observational setting, or type of activity. The results are interpreted in relation to social-developmental and social-constructionist approaches to gender; these views are presented as complementary--rather than competing--meta-theoretical viewpoints.

Meta-Analyses of Gender Effects on Conversational Interruption: Who, What, When, Where, and How

Meta-analyses of 43 published studies comparingadult womens and mens interruptions duringconversations were conducted. Combined significancelevels and combined effect sizes were analyzed. Acrossstudies, men were significantly more likely than womento use interruptions. This difference, however, wasassociated with a negligible effect size (d = .15). Amore substantial effect size (d = .33) was found when studies looking specifically at intrusive typesof interruption were analyzed separately. Othermoderator variables were found to be related to gendereffects on the use of intrusive interruptions. Most notably, reports of gender differences inintrusive interruptions were more likely and larger inmagnitude when either women (versus men) were firstauthors, participants were observed in naturalistic(versus laboratory) settings, or participants wereobserved interacting in groups of three or more persons(versus in dyads). These results lend support to acontextual-interactive model of gender that emphasizes the importance of situational moderators ongender-related variations in social behavior.

SEXUAL‐MINORITY COLLEGE WOMEN's EXPERIENCES WITH DISCRIMINATION: RELATIONS WITH IDENTITY AND COLLECTIVE ACTION

This study examined sexual-minority womens reports of sexism, heterosexism, and gendered heterosexism (discrimination that is both sexist and heterosexist) as predictors of social identity and collective action during college. A measure of gendered heterosexism was developed that assesses womens experiences with discrimination that is simultaneously sexist and heterosexist in nature. This measure was distinct from measures of sexism and heterosexism and had good internal consistency. The sample included 83 sexual-minority college women (mean age = 19.93 years). Significant differences occurred between groups of women based on their identification as lesbian/queer or bisexual. Lesbian/queer women reported significantly more heterosexist discrimination, social identity, and commitment to sexual orientation activism than did bisexual women. After controlling for reported sexism, heterosexism, and their interaction, reported gendered heterosexism uniquely predicted social sexual-orientation identity, commitment to feminist activism, and commitment to lesbian/gay/bisexual/queer (LGBQ) collective action. Thus, young LGBQ women may experience discrimination that is qualitatively different from sexism, heterosexism, or high levels of both sexism and heterosexism. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of intersectionality on sexual-minority womens experiences and identity development.

Self-disclosure and listener verbal support in same-gender and cross-gender friends' conversations

Self-disclosure and listener support were examined in conversations between same-gender and cross-gender friends. Participants were university students (mean age = 19 years) from mostly middle-class European-American backgrounds. Each pair of friends was asked to discuss how their relationships with their respective families had changed since entering college. Self-disclosures and listener verbal responses were coded from transcripts of the taped conversations. Coded listener responses ranged in how explicitly they acknowledged and supported the friends disclosure. The Kraemer-Jacklin statistic was used to test for speaker gender, partner gender, and interaction effects: First, contrary to expectation, men made more disclosures than did women. Second, clarification questions were more likely in response to disclosures from male friends than female friends. Finally, women used more active understanding responses with female friends than did women with male friends, men with female friends, or men with male friends. Taken together, the results highlight ways in which women and men may express intimacy and show support differently depending on both the speakers gender and the partners gender.

Women Are More Likely Than Men to Use Tentative Language, Aren’t They? A Meta-Analysis Testing for Gender Differences and Moderators

Robin Lakoff proposed that women are more likely than men to use tentative speech forms (e.g., hedges, qualifiers/disclaimers, tag questions, intensifiers). Based on conflicting results from research testing Lakoff’s claims, a meta-analysis of studies testing gender differences in tentative language was conducted. The sample included 29 studies with 39 independent samples and a combined total sample of 3,502 participants. Results revealed a statistically significant but small effect size (d = .23), indicating that women were somewhat more likely than men to use tentative speech. In addition, methodological moderators (operational definition, observation length, recording method, author gender, and year of study) and contextual moderators (gender composition, familiarity, student status, group size, conversational activity, and physical setting) were tested. Effect sizes were significantly larger in studies that (a) observed longer (vs. shorter) conversations, (b) sampled undergraduates (vs. other adults), (c) observed groups (vs. dyads), and (d) occurred in research labs (vs. other settings). The moderator effects are interpreted as supporting proposals that womens greater likelihood of tentative language reflects interpersonal sensitivity rather than a lack of assertiveness. In addition, the influence of self-presentation concerns in the enactment of gender-typed behavior is discussed.

Agency, communion, and gender as predictors of communication style and being liked in adult male-female dyads

Agency, communion, and gender were compared as predictors of communication style in the conversations of 76 unacquainted pairs of male-female college students. Each dyad was given a popular issue to discuss for 5 min. Agency and communion were measured using Spence and Helmreichs (Masculinity and Femininity: Their Psychological Dimensions, Correlates, and Antecedents, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1978) Personal Attributes Questionnaire. Self-perceived agency was significantly associated with verbal assertiveness: High-agency persons used fewer indirect statements and fewer passive self-references than low-agency persons. Nonsignificant trends indicated that self-perceived communication tended to be associated with interpersonal involvement: High-communion persons used fewer impersonal references and were liked more than low-communion persons.

Gender effects on Mexican-descent parents' questions and scaffolding during toy play: a sequential analysis

Parental responses following childrens answers to parental questions (Parent Question → Child Answer → Parent Response) were examined during play between Mexican-descent children and their parents. Nineteen boys and 18 girls were videotaped playing separately with each of their parents with a toy zoo set. Patterns of parental responses following childrens answers to parental questions indicated that mothers provided more scaffolding responses than did fathers. Furthermore, mothers were more scaffolding in their responses even when sequences were analysed separately for child gender. The results support past research with European-American families which has found that mothers may be more aware of childrens cognitive capabilities than are fathers. Suggestions for future research that investigate scaffolding versus cognitive demand strategies are included.

Feminist Identity Among Latina Adolescents

This study explores developing conceptions of feminism among Latina adolescents, their prevalence of feminist endorsement, and whether home environment and well-being are related to feminist identity. One hundred and forty Latina girls (Grades 9 to 12, M age = 15) wrote personal narratives of their understanding of feminism and whether they consider themselves feminists. The major themes that emerged in girls’ conceptions were notions of feminism either as equality, as femininity, as female empowerment, as bias, or as sexism. Results show older adolescents are more likely to define feminism with regard to group-based status differences and that opposition to female superiority is a common reason for rejecting feminism. Endorsement of an egalitarian-based definition of feminism was correlated with higher body image but was unrelated to self-esteem or parent education.

Decision-Making Processes Between Friends: Speaker and Partner Gender Effects

Decision-making processes were examined inconversations between same-gender and cross-genderfriends. Participants were university students (mean age= 19 years) from mostly middle-class, European-American backgrounds. Each pair of friends was asked toparticipate in two decision-making topics for 5 minuteseach. Transcripts of the taped conversations were codedfor suggestions, agreement, disagreement, and abstentions (i.e., neither agreement nordisagreement). There were no significant differencesbetween either the women or the men friendship pairs orbetween the women and men partners within themixed-gender pairs in any of the observed behaviors.However, when speaker gender and partner genderinteraction effects were analyzed, it was found thatwomen with a woman friend were more likely to receivesupportive responses and less likely to receive negativeresponses to their suggestions than were women with aman friend. There were no partner gender effects onresponses to mens suggestions. The results highlight ways in which women and men may handle jointdecision-making with friends depending on both thespeakers gender and the partners gender.

“Girls Don’t Propose! Ew.” A Mixed-Methods Examination of Marriage Tradition Preferences and Benevolent Sexism in Emerging Adults

Thematic analysis was used to explore how emerging adults explained their preferences for two marriage traditions: marriage proposals and surname changes. Quantitative analyses were subsequently used to examine the association between benevolent sexism and participants’ marriage-tradition preferences. A sample of 277 undergraduates (M = 19 years) completed a survey that included open- and closed-ended questions about attitudes toward marriage traditions and gender-role ideology. Results of the thematic analysis indicated that both women and men tended to hold traditional marriage preferences—especially with regards to marriage proposals. Multiple regression indicated that endorsing benevolent sexism was related to holding more traditional preferences. The findings are interpreted in relation to the role that hidden power may play in many heterosexual romantic relationships.