‘I totally agree with you’: gender interactions in educational online discussion groups

Abstract

This paper discusses findings from an extensive project examining gender, language and computer‐mediated communication (CMC) in the context of undergraduate psychology courses. The contributions of 197 introductory psychology students (148 females, 49 males) participating in asynchronous CMC as part of their course were collated and coded for their language content using a qualitative content analysis procedure in Atlas.ti 4.2. Nearly 700 postings were characterised according to gender on the basis of seven categories relating to language and communication style – attenuated, authoritative, traditional male and female language features, mixed language, positive socioemotional and negative socioemotional. Gender interactions were analysed in terms of positive and negative socioemotional content, focusing on explicit markers of agreement and disagreement. Gender‐related patterns in language use and interaction style were found. Females were more likely than males to make attenuated contributions and express agreement, whereas males were more likely than females to make authoritative contributions and express disagreement. These results are discussed in terms of the implications for the increasing use of CMC in education.

Learners’ Interpersonal Beliefs and Generated Feedback in an Online Role-Playing Peer- Feedback Activity: An Exploratory Study

“…Prior studies revealed gender differences in the online text-based communication pattern and discourse. That is, females are more likely than males to express agreement and respond positively in online communication (Guiller & Durndell, 2006;Guiller & Durndell, 2007), probably because females tend to care more about interrelationships (Tannen, 1991) and connection with peers (Ching & Hsu, 2015). Playing a role may have greater impact on females in terms of alleviating their interpersonal barriers of critiquing peers and promoting psychological safety in the learning environment.…”

Ghosts, stars, and learning online: Analysis of interaction patterns in student online discussions

“…This is possibly due to student maturity and gendered concern for the feelings of others. As Guiller and Durndell (2006) found, women were more likely to express agreement than disagreement. There was, however, a ghost in the first discussion.…”

“…If expression of critique is more difficult for women, the option to critique namelessly in online discussion may encourage freer expression. Given similar findings by Guiller and Durndell (2006), further exploration of student interaction patterns and gender is recommended.…”

“…Daugherty and Turner (2003) explored student popularity and group dynamics in a web-based environment and found that in a course with eight women and only three men, two of the men were ranked as the most popular students in the course, suggesting that gender may indeed play a role in online interactions. Guiller and Durndell (2006) found that women were more likely to express agreement in their online interactions, while men were more likely to express disagreement.The emphasis on beliefs and women's relation to knowing was first implied in Belenky, Clinchy et al's (1986) seminal study Women's Ways of Knowing. They found Perry's highly regarded (1981) scheme of cognitive and ethical development, based on research conducted on privileged male students, to be inadequate to explain their findings.…”

Linguistic accommodation in online communication: The role of language and gender

“…Traditionally, and as Lakoff (2004) has remarked, women are said to have no sense of humour. In online discussion groups, scholars such as Guiller and Durndell (2006) have identified more instances of humour in men's participation in online discussion groups. In their study, more males than females sent messages containing humour.…”