The phenomenon of Listener Responses as it is termed in communication research is truly an intriguing one. In particular, cultural norms affect not just the types of expressions used but also the frequency at which they are expected to occur. Some of the ones that I've heard in my own interactions with people include 'Mm-hmm', 'Ok', and 'Uh-huh'. Who ever thought such simple vocalizations can carry so much meaning?
One interesting study that I read about was on how men and women differ in their use of backchannel responses (eg. Scollon and Scollon, 2000, in their paper on 'Intercultural Communication and Stereotyping'). It was posited that differences between men and women arise largely because they have contrasting perceptions about the functions of discourse. Researchers have discovered that across cultures, there is often a difference in the belief about whether language is used primarily for the purposes of conveying information or expressing relationships. In general, it seems that women pay more attention to the relational aspects of discourse as compared to men.
For example, Deborah Tannen noted that in American culture, men in general seem to prioritize the conveying of information over the relationship-building functions of discourse. What this entails is that we can probably expect shorter and less frequent backchannel responses from men when they are in a conversation.
In relationship guidebooks, women always seem to be complaining about how all men are "terrible listeners", that they "just don't understand" our problems as much as other women. Perhaps it's time to reconsider these labels that we have imposed on them - our men could just be more 'passive' listeners, who merely see less of a need to provide vocal feedback to their interlocutors (including their girlfriends or wives) very often during a conversation. It does not necessarily mean that they are being less receptive or less attentive than our other female friends...
So, what do you say, ladies? Give the men a break now? :)
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Gender-differential use of listener responses has been the subject of study for many many years now. Though it may be an overgeneralization to say that males tend not to use LR or tend to use for different purposes, it does help raise our awareness of the importance of the role a listener plays in the co-construction of an interaction.
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