Men's and Women's Talk in Same-Gender and Mixed-Gender Dyads: Power or Polemic?'

Abstract

One hundred and eight university students (54 men and 54 women) were recorded in 108, eight-minute, problem-solving interactions under two dyadic conditions: (a) same-gender, and (b) mixed-gender. Interactants were coded during each minute for: (a) amount of Talk, (b) Mean Length Utterance (MLU) and (c) Rate. MANOVA results for Talk indicated that men in mixedgender dyads talked more than did men and women in same-gender dyads, and they in turn talked more than women in mixed-gender dyads. For MLU, men consistently spoke in longer utterances, regardless of gender of their partner. No Rate differences were found involving gender. Additionally, when there was a control for interactant gender, individuals who talked more and in longer utterances were rated by their partners as higher in Dynamism, an operationalisation of power. Finally, multiple regression analyses indicated that the Talk and MLU differences found were more predictable on the basis of gender than Androgyny, Empathy or Social Desirability. The findings suggest that gender leads to differences in talk behaviour that are consistent with the appearance, but not necessarily the actual implementation, of power.