Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Semester of Degree Completion

1992

Thesis Director

Douglas Bock

Abstract

There is currently extensive research on gender differences in the area of speech communication. This study explores the gender differences in speaking styles and their relation to evaluation styles. Subjects were students enrolled in Introduction to Speech Communication at Eastern Illinois University. After compiling 722 speech evaluation sheets, an analysis of variance, factor analysis, and content analysis was conducted. Significant results concluded that sex of the instructor, sex of the speaker, and sex of the evaluator influence each other. Implications of this study were that speech instructors must be aware of their own speaking and evaluation style to avoid any biased instructing. Speech instructors should also attempt to master a universal speaking and evaluating style to avoid gender discrepancies. Furthermore, instructors who use peer evaluations in class must educate students on rating error tendencies.

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