Gender, Communication, and Social Influence: A Developmental Perspective

In this chapter we examine the relation between gender differences in communication and gender differences in social influence across the life span. Although there is extensive research on gender differences in communication in a wide variety of domains as well as literature assessing the way language creates and maintains gender stereotypes, ¹ in this chapter, we focus on those gender effects in communication that have been found to contribute to gender differences in social influence. In addition, we discuss several theoretical explanations for gender effects on communication and influence.