Exploring the Text

  1. What is the stereotype that Matthias Mehl and his research team sought to debunk? Is discussing this stereotype an effective way to open the article? Explain your answer.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: What is the stereotype that Matthias Mehl and his research team sought to debunk? Is discussing this stereotype an effective way to open the article? Explain your answer.
  2. How does Mehl establish that his research will not merely duplicate previous studies? What is original about the work he and his colleagues have been doing?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: How does Mehl establish that his research will not merely duplicate previous studies? What is original about the work he and his colleagues have been doing?
  3. What is meant by “the default paradigm” (para. 4)?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: What is meant by “the default paradigm” (para. 4)?
  4. What information do you gain from Table 1 that is not in the written text? Explain why you believe that this is or is not an effective way to convey additional information.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: What information do you gain from Table 1 that is not in the written text? Explain why you believe that this is or is not an effective way to convey additional information.
  5. Mehl and his colleagues are careful to explain their hypothesis, methodology, and findings, including some limitations of their study. What other questions do you think they have left unanswered or unexamined? What questions might guide further research?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: Mehl and his colleagues are careful to explain their hypothesis, methodology, and findings, including some limitations of their study. What other questions do you think they have left unanswered or unexamined? What questions might guide further research?
  6. Judging from the References and Notes, how would you characterize the type of research Mehl and his colleagues conducted?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: Judging from the References and Notes, how would you characterize the type of research Mehl and his colleagues conducted?
  7. This article reports a scientific study and its findings. In what ways is it the same as a conventional essay of explanation or argument? In what ways does it differ? Cite specific passages to support your response.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: This article reports a scientific study and its findings. In what ways is it the same as a conventional essay of explanation or argument? In what ways does it differ? Cite specific passages to support your response.
  8. In an interview on National Public Radio, Mehl made the following statement about the importance of debunking the stereotype of the “female chatterbox” and the “silent male”: “It puts men into the gender box, that in order to be a good male, we’d better not talk—[that] silence is golden. The stereotype puts unfortunate constraints on men and women—the idea that you can only happily be a woman if you’re talkative and you can only be happy as a man if you’re reticent. The study relieves those gender constraints.” Do you agree or disagree with Mehl’s interpretation of the study’s impact? Why?

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: In an interview on National Public Radio, Mehl made the following statement about the importance of debunking the stereotype of the “female chatterbox” and the “silent male”: “It puts men into the gender box, that in order to be a good male, we’d better not talk—[that] silence is golden. The stereotype puts unfortunate constraints on men and women—the idea that you can only happily be a woman if you’re talkative and you can only be happy as a man if you’re reticent. The study relieves those gender constraints.” Do you agree or disagree with Mehl’s interpretation of the study’s impact? Why?
  9. Mehl’s research has proved to be of interest to a wider, nonspecialist audience. What rhetorical strategies does he employ in this article to make it accessible to readers who are not professional psychologists or linguists without diluting the research itself? Examine one of the reports on his work, and discuss how the analysis of his research is reported—specifically, how the reporting differs from Mehl’s own article. See, for instance, “Stereotypes of Quiet Men, Chatty Women Not Sound Science” from the Washington Post; “Study: Women Don’t Talk More Than Men” from ABC News; and “Men ‘No Less Chatty than Women’” from BBC News.

    Question

    uZxg83qH9uNZ3NUqyV8wT7hdxc9/5MQeJeZaOsQNhvI0w6Xk3EOeDQ1B873FE1s7
    Chapter 8 - Are Women Really More Talkative Than Men? - Exploring the Text: Mehl’s research has proved to be of interest to a wider, nonspecialist audience. What rhetorical strategies does he employ in this article to make it accessible to readers who are not professional psychologists or linguists without diluting the research itself? Examine one of the reports on his work, and discuss how the analysis of his research is reported—specifically, how the reporting differs from Mehl’s own article. See, for instance, “Stereotypes of Quiet Men, Chatty Women Not Sound Science” from the Washington Post; “Study: Women Don’t Talk More Than Men” from ABC News; and “Men ‘No Less Chatty than Women’” from BBC News.