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Sex Differences in Body Movements and Positions

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Gender and Nonverbal Behavior

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Social Psychology ((SSSOC))

Abstract

The social roles of women and men are often revealed in the microprocesses of everyday interaction. Recent work in language style (Lakoff, 1973; Thorne & Henley, 1975) indicates subtle differences in speech and conversational style which mirror the relative power positions of the sexes in society. Nonverbal communication also shows such effects (Weitz, 1979). Nancy Henley’s (1977) book Body Politics outlined such dynamics in a number of different nonverbal channels: touch, space, facial expression, movement.

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Reference Notes

  1. Beekman, S. Sex differences in nonverbal behavior. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Chicago, 1975.

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  2. Davis, M. Nonverbal dimensions of sex and status differences. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Anthropological Association, Washington, D.C., 1976.

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  3. Davis, M., Weitz, S. & Culkin, J. Sex differences in movement style: A multivariate analysis of naive and laban-based ratings. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, 1979.

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  4. Davis, M., & Weitz, S. Systematic observation of role distinctions in conversational behavior. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Communication Association, New York, 1977.

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  5. Davis, M., & Weitz, S. Analyzing nonverbal sex differences: Naive and trained observation. Paper presented at the Second National Conference on Body Language, New York, 1978.

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© 1981 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Davis, M., Weitz, S. (1981). Sex Differences in Body Movements and Positions. In: Mayo, C., Henley, N.M. (eds) Gender and Nonverbal Behavior. Springer Series in Social Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5953-4_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5953-4_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-5955-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-5953-4

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