The Impact of Gender on Types of Verbal Interactions in Corporate Training Sessions

Abstract

This study describes verbal interactions in 13 selected training sessions across the United States using the INTERSECT instrument. More than two-thirds of the interactions were found to be acceptance, the mere acknowledgment of a response by the instructor, with remediation accounting for about 21%, and praise, 11%. Criticism occurred only 4 times, or 18%. Male trainers provided more acceptance responses than female trainers at a statistically significant level. There were no differences in verbal classroom interactions based on gender equity during instruction.