The causes of gender differences in nonverbal behavior are not well understood. The present article discusses status as a possible explanation and analyzes some of the methodological and conceptual challenges associated with testing that hypothesis. The study by Helweg-Larsen, Cunningham, Carrico, and Pergram (2004), which investigated gender in relation to nodding toward peers versus professors in college classes, is highlighted to demonstrate some of the difficulties facing researchers when testing the status explanation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersenP. (1998).Researching sex differences within sex similarities: The evolutionary consequences of reproductive differences. In CanaryD. J.DindiaK. (Eds.), Sex differences and similarities in communication: Critical essays and empirical investigations of sex and gender in interaction (pp. 83–100). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum
BairdJ. E.Jr. (1977).Some nonverbal elements of leadership emergence.Southern Speech Communication Journal, 42, 352–361
4.
BurgoonJ. K.BullerD. B.WoodallW. G. (1989).Nonverbal communication: The unspoken dialogue. New York: Harper & Row
5.
BurgoonJ. K.LePoireB. A. (1999).Nonverbal cues and interpersonal judgments: Participant and observer perceptions of intimacy, dominance, composure, and formality.Communication Monographs, 66, 105–124
6.
CarneyD. R.HallJ. A.Smith LeBeauL. (2005).Beliefs about the nonverbal expression of social power.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 29, 105–123
7.
CashdanE. (1998).Smiles, speech, and body posture: How women and men display sociometric status and power.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 22, 209–228
8.
DeFrankR. S. (1980).Interactive, verbal and nonverbal aspects of the coronary-prone behavior pattern. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Rochester
9.
DeutschF. M. (1990).Status, sex, and smiling: The effect of role on smiling in men and women.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 531–540
10.
DovidioJ. F.EllysonS. L. (1985).Patterns of visual dominance behavior in humans. In DovidioJ. F.EllysonS. L. (Eds.), Power, dominance, and nonverbal behavior (pp. 128–149). New York: Springer-Verlag
11.
DovidioJ. F.EllysonS. L.KeatingC. F.HeltmanK.BrownC. E. (1988).The relationship of social power to visual displays of dominance between men and women.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 233–242
12.
DuncanS.Jr.FiskeD. W. (1977).Face-to-face interaction: Research, methods, and theory. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
13.
Eibl-EibesfeldtI. (1972).Similarities and differences between cultures in expressive movements. In HindeR. A. (Ed.), Nonverbal communication (pp. 297–314). London: Cambridge University Press
14.
FineC. (1982).Verbal and nonverbal expression of power in acquainted and unacquainted couples. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Temple University
15.
FriedmanH. S.Miller-HerringerT. (1991).Nonverbal display of emotion in public and in private: Self-monitoring, personality, and expressive cues.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 766–775
16.
GiffordR. (1994).A lens-mapping framework for understanding the encoding and decoding of interpersonal dispositions in nonverbal behavior.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 398–412
17.
HallJ. A. (1984).Nonverbal sex differences: Communication accuracy and expressive style. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press
18.
HallJ. A. (1987).On explaining gender differences: The case of nonverbal communication. In ShaverP.HendrickC. (Eds.), Review of personality and social psychology (Vol. 6, pp. 177–200). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
19.
HallJ. A.CarneyD. R.MurphyN. A. (2002).Gender differences in smiling. In AbelM. H. (Ed.), An empirical reflection on the smile (pp. 155–185). Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press
20.
HallJ. A.CarterJ. D.HorganT. G. (2000).Gender differences in the nonverbal communication of emotion. In FischerA. H. (Ed.), Gender and emotion: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 97–117). Paris: Cambridge University Press
21.
HallJ. A.CoatsE. J.Smith LeBeauL. (2005).Nonverbal behavior and the vertical dimension of social relations: A meta-analysis.Psychological Bulletin, 131, 898–924
22.
HallJ. A.FriedmanG. B. (1999).Status, gender, and nonverbal behavior: A study of structured interactions between employees of a company.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1082–1091
23.
HallJ. A.HalberstadtA. G. (1997).Subordination and nonverbal sensitivity: A hypothesis in search of support. In WalshM. R. (Ed.), Women, men, and gender: Ongoing debates(pp. 120–133). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press
24.
HallJ. A.HalberstadtA. G.O'BrienC. E. (1997).“Subordination” and nonverbal sensitivity: A study and synthesis of findings based on trait measures.Sex Roles, 37, 295–317
25.
HallJ. A.Schmid MastM. (2005).When are vertical positions related to nonverbal behavior? Insights into confounders and moderators. Unpublished manuscript, Northeastern University, Boston
26.
HallJ. A.Smith LeBeauL.Gordon ReinosoJ.ThayerF. (2001).Status, gender, and nonverbal behavior in candid and posed photographs: A study of conversations between university employees.Sex Roles, 44, 677–692
27.
HarriganJ. A.LucicK. S.KayD.McLaneyA.RosenthalR. (1991).Effect of expresser role and type of self-touching on observers' perceptions.Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 21, 585–609
28.
HechtM. A.LaFranceM. (1998).License or obligation to smile: The effect of power and sex on amount and type of smiling.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1332–1342
29.
Helweg-LarsenM.CunninghamS. J.CarricoA.PergramA. M. (2004).To nod or not to nod: An observational study of nonverbal communication and status in female and male college students.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 28, 358–361
30.
HenleyN. M. (1977).Body politics: Power, sex, and nonverbal communication. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall
IckesW.GesnP. R.GrahamT. (2000).Gender differences in empathic accuracy: Differential ability or differential motivation?Personal Relationships, 7, 95–109
33.
IrishJ. T.HallJ. A. (1995).Interruptive patterns in medical visits: The effects of role, status and gender.Social Science & Medicine, 41, 873–881
34.
KnappM. L.HallJ. A. (2002).Nonverbal communication in human interaction, 5th ed.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
35.
KnappM. L.HartR. P.FriedrichG. W.ShulmanG. M. (1973).The rhetoric of goodbye: Verbal and nonverbal correlates of human leave-taking.Speech Monographs, 40, 182–198
36.
LaFranceM.HechtM. A.Levy PaluckE. (2003).The contingent smile: A meta-analysis of sex differences in smiling.Psychological Bulletin, 129, 305–334
37.
LefflerA.GillespieD. L.ConatyJ. C. (1982).The effect of status differentiation on nonverbal behavior.Social Psychology Quarterly, 45, 153–161
38.
McClureE. B. (2000).A meta-analytic review of sex differences in facial expression processing and their development in infants, children, and adolescents.Psychological Bulletin, 126, 424–453
39.
MehrabianA. (1981).Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions and attitudes, 2nd ed.Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
40.
MehrabianA.WilliamsM. (1969).Nonverbal concomitants of perceived and intended persuasiveness.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 37–58
41.
MorrisD. (1977).Man watching: A field guide to human behavior. New York: Harry N. Abrams
42.
NollerP. (1986).Sex differences in nonverbal communication: Advantage lost or supremacy regained?Australian Journal of Psychology, 38, 23–32
43.
NollerP.CallanV. J. (1989).Nonverbal behavior in families with adolescents.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 13, 47–64
44.
PalmerM. T. (1989).Mapping relational inferences onto conversational behaviors: Cross-sectional and time series analysis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin—Madison
45.
RichmondV. P.McCroskeyJ. C. (2000).Nonverbal behavior in interpersonal relations, 4th ed.Boston: Allyn and Bacon
46.
RidgewayC. L.BergerJ.SmithL. (1985).Nonverbal cues and status: An expectation states approach.American Journal of Sociology, 90, 955–978
47.
RosenthalR. (1991).Meta-analytic procedures for social research, rev. ed.Newbury Park, CA: Sage
48.
RosipJ. C.HallJ. A. (2004).Knowledge of nonverbal cues, gender, and nonverbal decoding accuracy.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 28, 267–286
49.
ScarlettH. H. (1978).Communication exchange behaviors of men and women from middle and lower socioeconomic class backgrounds. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Clark University
50.
Schmid MastM. (2002).Dominance as expressed and inferred through speaking time: A meta-analysis.Human Communication Research, 28, 420–450
51.
Schmid MastM.HallJ. A. (2004).When is dominance related to smiling? Assigned dominance, dominance preference, trait dominance, and gender as moderators.Sex Roles, 50, 387–399
52.
SiegelS. M.FriedlanderM. L.HeatheringtonL. (1992).Nonverbal relational control in family communication.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 16, 117–139
53.
VrugtA. (1987).The meaning of nonverbal sex differences.Semiotica, 64, 371–380
54.
VrugtA.KerkstraA. (1984).Sex differences in nonverbal communication.Semiotica, 50, 1–41