PSY 409B, May 3, 2006

Outline #9 – Gender and Discourse

By: Anthony Lagondino

Gender Discourse by Deborah Tannen (Oxford University press, 1994) pages, 161-171.

Instructions for this activity are found at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/g24-oral1.htm
Instructor: Dr. Leon James

I. Pragmatic Identity

a. Seen when partners use similar devices to similar ends

b. i.e. both spouses propose sleep when unpleasant information has been confronted

c. i.e. Johan and Marianne who choose to ignore their problems rather than deal with them

II. Pragmatic Synonymy

a. Seen when couples avoid confrontation by deflecting the confrontation with excessive verbiage pontification

i. Function of both tactics is to avoid mention of the real issue

b. Couples may try to express their sadness about the loss of a marriage

i. The man may talk about generalization or about finding meaning in life

ii. The female might directly and simply talk about her own feelings for him

iii. She may blame herself, or put her self down

iv. Both cases neither “hear” each others message

III. Pragmatic Homonymy

a. To create pragmatic homonymy couples need to use the same surface devices to achieve different ends

b. The wife may barrage her husband so as to avoid hearing answers to them

c. He may ask rhetorical questions that take form of taunts – sarcasm

i. Taunting will rouse anger and drive her farther away

IV. The Use of Questions

a. Women may ask more questions than men

b. By asking more questions it shows she is seeking involvement

c. She may ask more “real” questions while he may ask rhetorical questions

d. If a woman is asking questions to seek information; the ones that he may answer are those that make mention of his mistress

e. At the root of a lot of marital problems is an implicit agreement to disagree

i. Even if they have a great deal in common

ii. Makes productive communication difficult

V. Tannen’s Conclusions

a. Suggested both new methodology for interpreting communication as a new development of a theory of communication competence

b. Pragmatic structures entail multi-level analysis

c. The structure of a single conversation and the entire relationship is explicable in terms of the matchings and conflicts among the consciously accessible and deeper levels of the participants’ conversational strategies

Related Links:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/102-8878069-6178513?%5Fencoding=UTF8&dym=0&search-type=ss&index=stripbooks%3Arelevance-above&field-keywords=pragmatic%20identity – This link takes you to Amazon.com.  I did a general search on “pragmatic identity” and I was surprised to find as many books that discuss this topic.   I read some of the summaries of the books and the information is actually interesting.

http://pages.towson.edu/itrow/wmcomm.htm - This link takes you to a website of a review of the research on gender and communication that was prepared by Dr. Beth Vanfossen for ITROW's Women and Expression Conference.  There were some exact topics that Deborah Tannen discusses in her book; who talks more, men or women, who interrupts more and other topics surrounding the way men and women communicate with each other.

http://www.crosswalk.com/family/marriage/1193737.html - I thought that this website that this link takes you to was interesting in that it discusses the way couples in marriage communicate.  The section I prepared the outline for has dialogue from a couple on the verge of divorce and focuses on the way they interact.  This website has good points as to how to keep the communication flowing in marriage.

My Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/409bs2006/lagondino/lagondino-home.htm

Class Home Page:  www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/classhome-g24.htm