Gender Comparisons in
Social and
Personality
Characteristics
, CHAPTER 6
Gender Comparisons in Social and
Personality Characteristics
Page 174
6-1. Which of the following students provides the best understanding of the social
constructionist approach?
a. Gene: “Our social information is constructed by an interaction of our genetic
predispositions and the social world.”
b. Audra: “Our beliefs about social categories are gradually acquired during
the first three years of life; thereafter, it‟s difficult to change them.”
*c. Qing: “Our experience in our culture provides the information
necessary to invent our own versions of reality.”
d. Rennie: “Our knowledge about the social world is stored in mental images,
rather than in language or verbal descriptions.”
Pages 174-175
6-2. According to the social constructionist approach to gender,
a. our views of the world provide us with objective perspectives about social
interactions.
b. our views of the world are shaped primarily by rewards and punishments.
c. we create highly accurate representations of the outside world.
*d. we create our versions of reality, based on our gender-related
interactions and experiences in the world.
Pages 174-175
6-3. Which of the following statements is the best description of the social
constructionist perspective?
a. People learn their social roles by the principles of operant conditioning and
modeling.
b. Each individual constructs a life plan, according to his or her construction of
the ideal self.
c. The conflicts we faced as children help us construct a prototype for our adult
interactions.
*d. We construct our view of the world, including what it means to be male
or female.
,Pages 174-175
6-4. According to the social constructionist approach to gender,
a. each person in a culture constructs a completely different version of the
reality that he or she experiences.
b. social behavior can best be understood in terms of essentialism, so that all
women are fairly similar in their social characteristics.
c. all cultures share many basic concepts about gender, and these concepts can
best be explained in terms of the principles of evolution.
*d. language is an important mechanism for categorizing our social
experiences and creating our individual realities.
Page 176
6-5. Suppose that you are reading an article in a professional journal about gender
differences in some social behavior. You are reading the methods section and
have not yet reached the results section. You are most likely to expect a large
gender difference in which of the following situations?
a. when behavior is tallied by a trained observer
b. when participants do not need to have special skills
c. when work roles are made especially prominent
*d. when other people are present
Page 176
6-6. Imagine that you are attending a lecture on gender comparisons in social
behavior. You have been told that the speaker will provide an overview of the
topic. Which of the following statements would you most expect to hear?
a. Surprisingly, gender differences are small when gender roles are
emphasized.
b. Gender differences are small when other people are watching you.
*c. Gender differences are large when the relevant behavior involves skills
related to one‟s gender.
d. Gender differences are large when other roles—such as work—are
emphasized.
Page 176
6-7. Chapter 6 begins with a discussion about gender differences in social behavior.
Which of the following statements is correct about the situations that are likely to
demonstrate especially small gender differences?
*a. Gender differences are small if you compare men and women with
similar jobs and you emphasize their work roles.
b. Gender differences are small when other people are watching.
c. Gender differences are small when we study nonverbal behavior.
d. Gender differences are small when we study people in developing countries,
rather than in North America.
, Page 176
6-8. According to the material in Chapter 6, the gender differences in social
interactions are largest
*a. when other people are present.
b. when the situation emphasizes factors other than gender, such as work roles.
c. when we are doing something routine, which we have done numerous times
in the past.
d. when we are talking about positive emotions, rather than negative emotions.
Pages 176-177
6-9. Suppose that a male friend of yours tells you, “Well, no wonder I can‟t really
understand what my girlfriend is trying to tell me. After all, men and women kind
of come from different planets!” Your best reply would be
a. “You are correct; the gender differences in communication are large.”
b. “You are correct; the gender differences aren‟t enormous, but these
differences have been observed in almost every component of
communication.”
*c. “You are not correct; there are some gender differences, but these
differences typically depend on specific details of the situation.”
d. “You are not correct, because the research shows that men and women are
virtually identical in the way they communicate.”
Page 177
6-10. Studies on men and women in conversation indicate that
a. women talk more than men, but men interrupt more than women do.
b. women talk more than men, and women also interrupt more than men do.
c. men and women talk equally, and they also interrupt each other equally.
*d. the gender differences are small, but some studies show that men talk
and interrupt more than women do.
Page 177
6-11. What can we conclude about interruption patterns in conversations?
a. Women often interrupt other women, especially to change the topic of the
conversation.
b. Men are especially likely to interrupt high-status men.
*c. Men interrupt more often than women interrupt, though not in all
situations.
d. In the current era, there are really no gender differences in interruption
patterns.
Page 178
6-12. Your text discusses research by Carli on the use of phrases such as “I‟m not sure”
and “I suppose.” This research found that
a. women consistently use these hesitant phrases more than men.
b. men and women use these hesitant phrases equally.
Social and
Personality
Characteristics
, CHAPTER 6
Gender Comparisons in Social and
Personality Characteristics
Page 174
6-1. Which of the following students provides the best understanding of the social
constructionist approach?
a. Gene: “Our social information is constructed by an interaction of our genetic
predispositions and the social world.”
b. Audra: “Our beliefs about social categories are gradually acquired during
the first three years of life; thereafter, it‟s difficult to change them.”
*c. Qing: “Our experience in our culture provides the information
necessary to invent our own versions of reality.”
d. Rennie: “Our knowledge about the social world is stored in mental images,
rather than in language or verbal descriptions.”
Pages 174-175
6-2. According to the social constructionist approach to gender,
a. our views of the world provide us with objective perspectives about social
interactions.
b. our views of the world are shaped primarily by rewards and punishments.
c. we create highly accurate representations of the outside world.
*d. we create our versions of reality, based on our gender-related
interactions and experiences in the world.
Pages 174-175
6-3. Which of the following statements is the best description of the social
constructionist perspective?
a. People learn their social roles by the principles of operant conditioning and
modeling.
b. Each individual constructs a life plan, according to his or her construction of
the ideal self.
c. The conflicts we faced as children help us construct a prototype for our adult
interactions.
*d. We construct our view of the world, including what it means to be male
or female.
,Pages 174-175
6-4. According to the social constructionist approach to gender,
a. each person in a culture constructs a completely different version of the
reality that he or she experiences.
b. social behavior can best be understood in terms of essentialism, so that all
women are fairly similar in their social characteristics.
c. all cultures share many basic concepts about gender, and these concepts can
best be explained in terms of the principles of evolution.
*d. language is an important mechanism for categorizing our social
experiences and creating our individual realities.
Page 176
6-5. Suppose that you are reading an article in a professional journal about gender
differences in some social behavior. You are reading the methods section and
have not yet reached the results section. You are most likely to expect a large
gender difference in which of the following situations?
a. when behavior is tallied by a trained observer
b. when participants do not need to have special skills
c. when work roles are made especially prominent
*d. when other people are present
Page 176
6-6. Imagine that you are attending a lecture on gender comparisons in social
behavior. You have been told that the speaker will provide an overview of the
topic. Which of the following statements would you most expect to hear?
a. Surprisingly, gender differences are small when gender roles are
emphasized.
b. Gender differences are small when other people are watching you.
*c. Gender differences are large when the relevant behavior involves skills
related to one‟s gender.
d. Gender differences are large when other roles—such as work—are
emphasized.
Page 176
6-7. Chapter 6 begins with a discussion about gender differences in social behavior.
Which of the following statements is correct about the situations that are likely to
demonstrate especially small gender differences?
*a. Gender differences are small if you compare men and women with
similar jobs and you emphasize their work roles.
b. Gender differences are small when other people are watching.
c. Gender differences are small when we study nonverbal behavior.
d. Gender differences are small when we study people in developing countries,
rather than in North America.
, Page 176
6-8. According to the material in Chapter 6, the gender differences in social
interactions are largest
*a. when other people are present.
b. when the situation emphasizes factors other than gender, such as work roles.
c. when we are doing something routine, which we have done numerous times
in the past.
d. when we are talking about positive emotions, rather than negative emotions.
Pages 176-177
6-9. Suppose that a male friend of yours tells you, “Well, no wonder I can‟t really
understand what my girlfriend is trying to tell me. After all, men and women kind
of come from different planets!” Your best reply would be
a. “You are correct; the gender differences in communication are large.”
b. “You are correct; the gender differences aren‟t enormous, but these
differences have been observed in almost every component of
communication.”
*c. “You are not correct; there are some gender differences, but these
differences typically depend on specific details of the situation.”
d. “You are not correct, because the research shows that men and women are
virtually identical in the way they communicate.”
Page 177
6-10. Studies on men and women in conversation indicate that
a. women talk more than men, but men interrupt more than women do.
b. women talk more than men, and women also interrupt more than men do.
c. men and women talk equally, and they also interrupt each other equally.
*d. the gender differences are small, but some studies show that men talk
and interrupt more than women do.
Page 177
6-11. What can we conclude about interruption patterns in conversations?
a. Women often interrupt other women, especially to change the topic of the
conversation.
b. Men are especially likely to interrupt high-status men.
*c. Men interrupt more often than women interrupt, though not in all
situations.
d. In the current era, there are really no gender differences in interruption
patterns.
Page 178
6-12. Your text discusses research by Carli on the use of phrases such as “I‟m not sure”
and “I suppose.” This research found that
a. women consistently use these hesitant phrases more than men.
b. men and women use these hesitant phrases equally.
