Zimmerman and West
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1975
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Men interrupt more frequently than women. In 11 mixed-sex, two-party conversations, men were responsible for 96% of interruptions, whereas women were responsible for just 4%.
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In our investigation, we found our results to be partially similar to the theory's result, whereby the male participants interrupted 61% (theory=96%) of the time while the female participants only interrupted 39%(theory=4%) of the time. Factors that could influence the difference in the ratio gap between the theory and our own investigation could be the number, depth of knowledge, personality and relationship of the participants.
In the Zimmerman experiment, there were 11 participants whereas we had an equal number of both genders- 2 boys and 2 girls, as opposed to 11 where it probably would not have been an equal ratio.
Moreover, the depth of knowledge of each participant can also be a strong factor. We assume that their depth of knowledge correlates with the confidence to speak out but this may not be the case, leading to our next factor of personalities.
Jerry and I discussed about how some participants may either be extroverted, introverted or even both, which may affect their preference on being vocal in a discussion or not. Personality is a very big idea to be reduced into a mere tangible idea as we noticed the two most talkative participants were as we identify, an extrovert(male) and an introvert(female) respectively based on our personal relationships with them.
We also think that the chemistry among the participants may also be an important factor. Let's say, if the 2 females and 2 males were siblings, they would be more comfortable with brisk interruptions from each other as they know the other party wouldn't mind but if the participants were all strangers to each other, they would be more reserved and hesitant in interrupting as this may be seen as rude and offensive.
Among all the factors that we have observed, the one that is most relatable to our topic of language and gender is personality. Our finding of the extroverted male and introverted female being the most vocal participants was really mind boggling as it made me wonder if both genders with a similar personality would also react the same e.g. the reaction of an extroverted male and female participant in a discussion-will it be equal? This brings me back to the gender-specific cultural implications we have today in language as what limits either gender in terms of language? I am probably wandering way off topic at this moment but so far, our exploration in language and gender has definitely been an eye opening metamorphosis as we slowly learn more about the society we live in.
I'll leave feedback for the official submission but interested to hear what others say. Thanks for going first!
ReplyDeleteI was wondering what the other two students were doing when the male and the female were participating in the discussion?
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of topic do they have to talk about?
It is quite fascinating that the introverted female was mostly participating with the extroverted male in the discussion.
Hey Zahin!
DeleteI didn't bring this up but the other two participants ( a male and a female) seemed really quiet. They did try to chip in from time to time but were rudely interrupted by the other 2 vocal participants, and this immediately shuts them off again.
It was indeed interesting noticing hoe the introverted spoke up almost as much as the extroverted male hence I believe their personalities would definitely be a contributing factor to this thesis aside from their gender.
I do agree with you. In my opinion, personality affects the result more compared to gender differences, even more since the sample you did was so small. The result shows that men interrupt more frequently than women, does this also mean that men are more rude compared to women?
ReplyDeleteI would assume as such- Interruption is often associated with a sense of rudeness and this theory would be interesting if it alludes to the topic of courtesy.
DeleteHowever, for the females who do nothing when they get interrupted, I also ponder on why and I assume that the stereotypical dominance of male physically would also be seen in literacy, where males also strive dominate in reading and writing skills and also, verbal expression.
A classic example of the extroverted male interruption pattern happened during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards [1]. While Taylor Swift was giving her acceptance speech for Best Female Video, Kanye West took the microphone from her grasp and rudely proclaimed that while he was happy for her, Beyonce's music video was one of the best of all time.
ReplyDelete[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_MTV_Video_Music_Awards#Kanye_West_controversy_and_debated_incidents
That was. HILARIOUS.
DeleteI can't believe I totally forgot about that epic moment! For those who don't know of the event, here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydswJSAfmZM
Kanye West's act was a prime symbol of this theory and it was ironic that he started off with "Taylor, I'm gonna let you finish but *continuous obnoxious rant*" and instead just blatantly continued with an immensely rude interruption.
Kanye West must have certainly been extremely egocentric to do as such because it was apparent that Taylor Swift, was clearly offended albeit shocked with disbelief and simply stared with mortification.
I wonder if this is a gender stereotype too, to reserve a comeback when a male interrupts us women but if it was Kanye, I probably wouldn't respond back in fear of getting a black eye.