Final answer:
Communication differences between men and women are culturally rather than biologically based, with research showing that these differences are not innate but rather the result of socialization.
Step-by-step explanation:
Research has shown that there are some communication differences between men and women, as reported by various researchers over time. Deborah Tannen posited that men and women have different motivational and expectation frameworks when they converse - men seeking to assert status and women aiming at establishing connections. Robin Lakoff once described women's speech as tentative, while men's as more assertive. However, Janet Hyde's meta-analysis revealed that these differences are not as pronounced in children, suggesting these communication styles are socially constructed rather than biologically determined. Ethnographic research supports the view that these patterns are culturally relative, with studies showing conversational styles in other cultures that are the opposite of those in America.
Additionally, the term 'mansplaining' and the belief that biological factors like the corpus callosum, amygdala, or hippocampus determine speech patterns have been challenged. Through research, like Hyde's work and examples of different cultural contexts, we see that the supposed biological grounding of these communication differences lacks evidence. Close analysis therefore leads us to consider gendered communication as culturally, rather than biologically, constructed.