A major proponent of the model, Deborah Tannen, summarised these differences as contrasting conversational goals: men, she argues, tend towards a "report style," focused on communicating factual information, whereas women tend towards a "rapport style," focused on building and maintaining relationships.
While the difference model deals with cross-gender communication, the male and female genders are often presented as being two separate cultures, hence the relevance of Gumperz's studies.
[7] The reason for the popularity of Tannen's book You Just Don't Understand, and the resultant popularization of the difference model,[8][9] is generally attributed to the style of Tannen's work, in which she adopts a neutral position on differences in genderlect by making no value-judgements about use of language by either gender.
[10] Difference theory as postulated by Tannen is generally summarised into six categories, each of which pairs contrasting uses of language by males and females.
Tannen asserts that most women avoid conflict in language at all costs, and instead attempt to resolve disagreements without any direct confrontation, to maintain positive connection and rapport.
Tannen asserts that women, seeing the world as a network of connections and relationships, view intimacy as key to achieving consensus and avoiding the appearance of superiority, whereas men, who are more likely to view the world in terms of status, see independence as being key to establishing their status.