Differences in Men and Women’s Communication

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Differences in Men and Women’s Communication
Differences in men and women’s communication can create some difficulty when it comes to first impressions, finding a potential partner, and maintaining relationships. Research shows that men tend to be more dominate when it comes to first impressions (Deyo, Walt, & Davis, 2011) and are more likely to talk about their interests, such as sports, rather than self-disclose personal information (Bond, 2009). Women, on the other hand, tend to discuss more personal topics a (Bond, 2009) and assess the man’s mannerisms and characteristics for compatibility (Deyo, Walt, & Davis, 2011).
Why is it so important to understand the differences between men and women’s communication? Being able to understand and identify the differences between men and women’s communication will help initiate and maintain healthy relationships. For example, men and women have different ideas of what is an “effective” first impression. Women tended to use “appearance enhancing strategies” to attract attention; men rated theses attempts as most effective (Frisbee, Dillow, Gaughan, & Norlund, 2009). However, men also used “appearance enhancing strategies” (Toma & Hancock, 2009) but women rated “using resource enhancing tactics or dominance over the competition” as most effective (Frisbee, Dillow, Gaughan, & Norlund, 2009).
Poor communication strategies can cause tentative conversations and further any conflict that has already risen. For example, in mixed-sex conditions, men and women were more tentative when discussing topics that were particular to the other sex (Palomares, 2009). Meaning, that unless the woman was knowledgeable about sports, she would more tentative during a conversation with a man about sports than...

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...unicate differently, it is important to know how to utilize communication strategies effectively, in order to handle any conflict. One study states that men are more likely to distract themselves when they know conflict is coming, whereas women are more likely to focus on the conflict. When a mood changing event occurs, men search for “distracting media stimuli” immediately after the event instead of focusing on the conflict. Women distracted themselves with “less absorbing stimuli” and progressed to more distracting media. These results show the different coping mechanisms of men and women. Women are usually though to have more coping skills than men. However, studies show that men and women have equal coping skills, but in different ways. Men use distraction as a coping mechanism, where women are more likely to “ruminate” on conflicts (Knobloch-Westerwick, 2007).

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