Student Research Projects

The Expression of Certainty through Spoken Language and the Influence of Gender Stereotypes

Student Name(s)	Jaclyn Ochs-Gregory
Faculty Mentor(s)	Dr. Rita Frank
Department	Psychology
Course	PSY 480: Original Research Project

Abstract

Subjects (in pairs consisting of female-female and male-female) took turns teaching each other a total of three procedures. The procedures consisted of stereotypically feminine, masculine and androgynous tasks. From their transcribed language, using linguist Robyn Lakoff's phrases of tentativeness, the degree of uncertainty was analyzed. Subjects were administered the Diagnostic Ratio Measure of Gender Stereotypes (DRMGS) to identify their degree of stereotypical thinking. Females will exhibit more tentative language than males. When paired with a male, female will exhibit more tentative language than when paired with a partner of the same sex.