Masculinity–femininity and encoding of nonverbal cues.

Three studies examined the within-sex relationship between masculinity–femininity and accuracy of encoding (sending) nonverbal cues. 246 undergraduates performed a variety of encodings tasks, and completed instruments including the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, Perceived Encoding Ability Scale, and Affective Communication Test. Encoding was operationally defined as intentional expression or involuntary "leakage" of affect. Both auditory (standard-content speech or content-filtered speech) and visual (facial expressions) channels were examined. More accurate encoders of intentional cues in both channels scored higher on femininity and lower on masculinity. Auditory leakage was also positively correlated with femininity and negatively correlated with masculinity; facial leakage was not correlated with the masculinity–femininity measures. Because the face is a highly controlled channel, facial leakage may be a relatively poor indicator of encoding ability and insensitive to the individual differences tapped by the masculinity–femininity measures. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)