ABSTRACT
Many social scientists attribute such distinctive differences in mate preference to biology-women are physiologically attracted to bigger and taller men whom they sense are better protectors (see Chapter 9). Men's
matching attractions, they would contend, are toward evidence of youth, fertility, and nurturance. Other social scientists-predominantly sociologists-put more emphasis on the influence of pre-established gender-linked social patterns and norms, known as gendered social roles, which are absorbed from our major cultural institutions (our families, schools, and media). In this view, men's age, height, and education are culturally recognized symbols of success, while intelligence and income only matter when a culture assigns the provider role to men. To understand how cultural norms about gender roles influence our relating, we will examine the current research findings regarding the influence of gender on communication, on the allocation of paid work and" family work," and on the use of power and influence strategies in intimate relationships. Then we consider explanations of how such
gender-linked role expectations influence relationship development. But before we examine the distinctive influence on relationships of
Gender influences communication Do we expect men and women to communicate differently? Are the differences we see a result of gender role norms (i.e, stereotypes) or are there
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actual differences in how men and women communicate in their relationships? Let us look first at research examining the extent to which there are gender-based stereotypes about men's and women's communication behavior and then review research exploring actual gender differences in their communication.
