The Relationship Between Powerless Speech, Agentic Behavior, and Amount of Talk

In this experiment, the relationship between powerless speech, agentic behavior (task initiation), and amount of talk in an interaction was examined. Participants were 104 British students paired for discussion either with a professor (low-status condition) or with another student (same-status condi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of social psychology 1997-08, Vol.137 (4), p.470-479
Main Author: McFadyen, Ruth G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agentic behaviour
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Communication Research
Cultural Differences
Females
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Great Britain
Hypotheses
Interpersonal Communication
Interpersonal interaction
Leaders
Leadership
Leadership Qualities
Males
Power
Powerlessness
Psychologists
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Questionnaires
Rating Scales
Relationship
Resistance (Psychology)
Sex Differences
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social Power
Social psychology
Social Status
Speech
Students
Talk
Undergraduate Students
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Summary:In this experiment, the relationship between powerless speech, agentic behavior (task initiation), and amount of talk in an interaction was examined. Participants were 104 British students paired for discussion either with a professor (low-status condition) or with another student (same-status condition). The results showed no significant relationship between a powerless speech style and the initiation of discussion questions. Also, there was generally no significant relationship between the use of powerless speech style and amount of talk produced, except among female students: Female participants who engaged in powerless speech most frequently spoke fewer words. A significant positive relationship was found between those who initiated questions most frequently and spoke the most words.
ISSN:0022-4545
1940-1183
DOI:10.1080/00224549709595463