Chapter 8: Language, Communication, and Emotion

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Cheng and colleagues (2011) created a computer program to test whether it could learn to distinguish the writings of men and women. To what extent could the computer program accurately identify whether something was written by a man or woman?

A. no better than chance (about 50% accuracy)

B. well above chance (about 80% accuracy)

C. inaccurately (below 20%)

D. 100% accurate

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Language, Communication, and Emotion

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of the following sex differences in written communication did Cheng and colleagues’ (2011) computer analysis of female and male writers discover?

A. Sentences written by men are 20% longer than those written by women.

B. Men use more emotionally intensive adjectives.

C. Women tend to use more question marks in their writing.

D. Women’s writing tends to be more grammatically correct.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Language, Communication, and Emotion

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Language, Communication, and Emotion

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. 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. mental imagery precedes language construction

C. the meaning of language is derived from social and cultural usage

D. words correspond to rigid categories of objects that serve to schematically organize the contents of thought

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: How Do Gender-Related Words Influence Social Perception?

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. 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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Generic Masculine

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Stout and Dasgupta (2011) found that the 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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Generic Masculine

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following findings provides direct support for the Whorfian hypothesis?

A. People who speak in languages with grammatical gender report more egalitarian beliefs about gender.

B. Bilingual individuals are less likely to endorse sexist beliefs.

C. Use of generic masculine language decreases 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.

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Gendered Features of Language

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. religiosity

B. violent crime

C. sexism

D. gender equality

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Grammatical Gender

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

A. nongendered languages; gendered languages

B. gendered languages; nongendered languages

C. Western languages; Eastern languages

D. Eastern languages; Western languages

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Grammatical Gender

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. diminutives

B. hostile sexism

C. gender stereotypes

D. coverture

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Diminutives and Gender Labels

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. 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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Influence of Gendered Language on Perceptions

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. 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. mug shots

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Influence of Gendered Language on Perceptions

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Analyses indicate that the language used 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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Influence of Gendered Language on Perceptions

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. 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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Influence of Gendered Language on Perceptions

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Roles Do Sex and Gender Play in Verbal Communication?

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Who Talks More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. 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 what types of 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Who Interrupts More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Who Interrupts More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Gossip serves which of the following social functions?

A. enforcing a group’s moral norms

B. breaking social bonds

C. relational alienation

D. masking emotions

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Gossip

Difficulty Level: Hard

20. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Gossip

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Analyses of how men and women communicate on social media reveals which of the following?

A. Women use more profanity than men do.

B. Women use more emotion words.

C. Men use more assertive language.

D. Women use more argumentative language.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. Schwarz and colleagues (2013) created word clouds to represent male and female communication based on 700 million words, phrases, and topics samples 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. Which of the following tends to show small sex differences favoring women?

A. assertive speech

B. self-disclosure

C. intrusive interruptions

D. talkativeness

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Roles Do Sex and Gender Play in Verbal Communication?

Difficulty Level: Medium

24. Which of the following is TRUE of sex differences in self-disclosure?

A. Women disclose more than men do to male 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 other-sex others than men do.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. 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

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Beyond Sex Differences: Intersectionality in Communication

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Beyond Sex Differences: Intersectionality in Communication

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Beyond Sex Differences: Intersectionality in Communication

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. 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 their life and maintains separate cognitive schemas for each

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Beyond Sex Differences: Intersectionality in Communication

Difficulty Level: Hard

29. Consider stereotypes that 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Verbal Communication: What’s the Big Picture?

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Women are stereotyped as more nonverbally ______ than men.

A. assertive

B. cold

C. confrontational

D. expressive

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Roles Do Sex and Gender Play in Nonverbal Communication?

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Smiling and Eye Contact

Difficulty Level: Medium

32. Which of the following is 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 men more than women.

D. The highest amount of mutual eye contact tends to occur among pairs of men.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Smiling and Eye Contact

Difficulty Level: Easy

33. 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

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Personal Space and Touch

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. in sports

B. in Western cultures

C. among close friends

D. in private instead of public

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Personal Space and Touch

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Body Posture and Gait

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Body Posture and Gait

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Overall, which of the following is TRUE of sex differences in nonverbal communication?

A. Women displayed more dominant nonverbal behaviors.

B. Men 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.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nonverbal Communication: What’s the Big Picture?

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Emotional Experience and Expression

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Emotional Experience and Expression

Difficulty Level: Easy

40. 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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Easy

41. 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Hard

42. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Easy

43. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. women

B. men

C. people of color

D. cisgender, heterosexuals

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Hard

45. ______ 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Encoding and Decoding Accuracy

Difficulty Level: Easy

46. At what age are sex differences in decoding accuracy largest?

A. infancy

B. childhood

C. adolescence

D. adulthood

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Encoding and Decoding Accuracy

Difficulty Level: Medium

47. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Easy

48. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. 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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

A. higher; higher

B. higher; lower

C. lower; higher

D. lower; lower

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Smiling and Eye Contact

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. In Eastern cultures, too much eye contact can signify disrespect.

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Smiling and Eye Contact

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Personal Space and Touch

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Body Posture and Gait

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer location: Nonverbal Communication: What’s the Big Picture?

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nonverbal Communication: What’s the Big Picture?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Gendered Features of Language

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Gossip

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Grammatical Gender

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.3: Evaluate how status, power, and culture shape sex differences in communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Roles Do Sex and Gender Play in Verbal Communication?

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. On average, women are more talkative than men.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Who Talks More?

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Emotional Experience and Expression

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Encoding and Decoding Accuracy

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Display Rules

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Gendered Features of Language

Difficulty Level: Hard

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

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Gossip

Difficulty Level: Medium

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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Influence of Gendered Language on Perceptions

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Social Media

Difficulty Level: Easy

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

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

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

Learning Objective: 8.1: Describe how gender-related words and language shape perceptions.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: How Does Gender-Related Words Influence Social Perception?

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. 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.

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Who Interrupts More?

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. 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?

Learning Objective: 8.2: Analyze sex similarities and differences in verbal and nonverbal communication.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Smiling and Eye Contact

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. 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 your answer with research findings.

Learning Objective: 8.4: Analyze how sex and gender shape the experience and expression of emotion.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Emotional Experience and Expression

Difficulty Level: Medium