Gender schematicity, identity salience, and -linked language use
1
Men and women differ in their everyday communicative behaviors in consistently
meaningful ways (Aries, 1996; Canary & Dindia, 1998; Mulac, 1998; Mulac, Bradac, & Gibbons,
2001). Across several contexts, men have been found to favor the use of certain language features,
whereas women tend to favor other language features (see, for a review, Mulac, 1998). This variation
in language use between men and women is consequential and plays an integral role in impression
formation (i.e., gender-linked language effect; Mulac, 1998)
More important than a straightforward examination of male/female language differences is a
theoretical account for these differences. Despite the strong support for male/female language
difference in a variety of contexts, there is a lack of theoretically based empirical support, which
offers explanations for why such differences might be present (see, for an exception, Mulac et al.,
2001a). Certain theorists claim that male/female language differences result from culturally learned
behaviors (Maltz & Borker, 1982), while others assert that they result from power differentials
favoring men (Henley & Kramarae, 1991; Lakoff, 1975; Thorne & Henley, 1975). These two—
ostensibly disparate—approaches, while offering some general explanations, offer minimal utility to
account for gender-linked language usage, as they do not specify the antecedent conditions or
cognitive mechanisms needed for such linguistic variation.
Utilizing self-categorization theory (Turner, 1985; Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, &
Wetherell, 1987) can possibly resolve the current lack of theoretical explanation in language and
gender research (Palomares, Bradac, & Reid, 2002). By outlining: (i) self-categorization theory and
the importance of group identity salience and chronic accessibility in determining behavior; (ii) the
integral role of gender-linked language use in relation to gender identity; and (iii) the theoretical
rationale for the proposed hypotheses, the current study attempts to offer an initial step toward an
explanatory mechanism for male/female language use differences.
Self-Categorization Theory
Self-categorization theory (SCT; Turner, 1985; Turner et al., 1987) expanding upon social
Convention