Attitudes toward male and female speech: Experiments on the effects of sex‐typical language

Two experiments were conducted to test the effects of messages containing sex‐based language distinctions on subjects’ evaluations of the speaker, attitudes toward the message, and attributions of sex‐role characteristics to the speaker. Results of Experiment I indicated that evaluation of the source‐anonymous female speaker differed significantly from evaluation of the source‐anonymous male speaker on the dimensions of sex, command, self‐orientation, and compliance. Results of Experiment II indicated that source‐anonymous sex‐typical speakers were differentially evaluated on the dimensions of command, accomodation, plausibility, and sex. Differential evaluations occurring as a consequence of sex‐based linguistic features has implications for further research on sex effects in communication.