A struggle for dominance: Relational communication patterns in television drama

Abstract

Studies of gender role information in television drama focusing on personality and occupational traits provide a description of content which does not take into account the context of interpersonal interaction. Using a relational coding system based on interactional communication theory, the studies reported here investigated the association of power with gender as revealed through interpersonal interaction. Messages of dominance, submission, and neutrality were identified from the verbal interactions of gender defined speaker‐receiver dyads in three samples of television drama: primetime comedy and adventure series, soap operas, and cartoons. Content was described according to message characteristics of television drama and gender role characteristics of the messages. Results showed the predominant model of interpersonal interaction for both male and female characters was a dominant masculine‐style of interaction resulting in the portrayal of a struggle for dominance.