Assignment 2: LASA 1: Gender Perception in Nonverbal Communication
In this assignment, you will explore the role of nonverbal communication in interactions between genders.

Using the Argosy University online library resources and the Internet, research the differences in nonverbal communication between genders.

Once you have an understanding, observe a small group of people, which can be comprised of friends, family, or a group of strangers. The small group should have three to six people and be composed of both male and female members. Observe the group for 15–30 minutes, looking for the types of interactions taking place and how each person uses nonverbal communication to make oneself understood. Pay special attention to nonverbal signals and gestures (body language, facial expressions, eye contact, hand gestures, space, tone, appearance, etc.).

** Understand when doing your observations that you must protect the privacy of the people you observe. Anything you discover as part of your observation that does not relate directly to the objective of the assignment needs to be kept confidential. There are three different roles that you, as the observer, may have as defined below (Patton, 1986). In your paper, please discuss the type of observation you did and what you learned from that aspect.

Full participant observation: You took part in the conversation and were part of the “observation.”
Partial observation: You were sometimes part of the conversation, but mostly stayed on the outer edge of it.
Onlooker: You were an outsider and simply observed another group’s interactions. (this is recommended for the assignment)
Note the number of people in the group and briefly describe the interactions that you observed (who is doing most of the talking, number of people involved, the way members are seated, clothes, and the topic of conversation, if you know it, etc.). Create a matrix to present your observations (an example of a completed matrix is shown below—you will create your own to fit your specific observations).

Based on your observations on how nonverbal cues are regulating the flow of conversation, write an analysis including answers to the following questions. Be sure to use terms and concepts from the textbook, research, and module readings.

Assignment:Gender perception in Communication

Assignment:Gender perception in Communication

What do you think is the topic of conversation? Describe the topic of conversation.
Assess how each member’s body posture and movements convey his or her status and attitude.
Deduce which nonverbal signals are responsible for showing emotion and feeling. Examine how these nonverbal signals help to explain what is going on.
Differentiate between the gestures used by males vs. females—conclude if there is a noticeable difference.
Compare what the research says in relation to what you observed.
Identify any inconsistencies in the person’s nonverbal communication with what he or she was talking about (ex: shaking head “yes” and saying “no”).
Examine what type of observation you did in reference to this assignment (types are listed above).
What did you find most challenging about interpreting nonverbal behaviors in this setting?
How does this assignment help you to better understand nonverbal communication and gender?
By Wednesday, March 8, 2017, submit your matrix and your analysis in Word format in a single file to the M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox. Include your matrix as the final page following your reference list. Write a 4–5-page paper (not counting title and references pages or the matrix) in Word format. Apply APA standards for writing, formatting, and citation to you work.

Patton, M. Q. (2008). Utilization focused evaluation. (4 ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publication.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.