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ERIC Number: ED166760
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1978-Nov
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Sex Differences in Political Communication: A Study of Female and Male State Legislators.
Leenhouts, Thelma K.
In an investigation of the communication similarities and differences between male and female legislators, the nine female representatives in the Michigan House of Representatives were matched with nine male representatives on four variables: political party, length of legislative service, district represented, and race. The representatives were interviewed at length about their communication in four areas: the allocation of communication time, floor debate, committee deliberation, and constituent communication. Interviews were also held with secretaries, committee aides and clerks, legislative staff, and members of the press. Other information was secured through observation of both floor debates and committee meetings and through reading and representatives' mailings, newsletters, press releases, daily calendars, and constituent mail. The findings revealed that male and female representatives were similar in all four communication areas. The differences that did emerge were, in most cases, attributable to the four variables, especially length of service and district represented, rather than to the sex variable. In general, the findings seemed to indicate that a resocialization process occurred for female representatives. The longer they served, the more their communication behavior became similar to male behavior. (FL)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association (64th, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 2-5, 1978)