Gender and emotional expression

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The study of the relationship between gender and emotional expression is the study of the differences between men and women in behavior that expresses emotions. These differences in emotional expression may be primarily due to cultural expectations of femininity and masculinity. [1]

Contents

Major theories

Many psychologists reject the notion that men experience emotions less frequently than women do. Instead, researchers have suggested that men exhibit restrictive emotionality . Restrictive emotionality refers to a tendency to inhibit the expression of certain emotions, and an unwillingness to self-disclose intimate feelings. [2] Men's restrictive emotionality has been shown to influence health, emotional appraisal, and overall identity. Furthermore, tendencies toward restrictive emotionality are correlated with an increased risk of certain anxiety disorders. [2]

Research has suggested that women express emotions more frequently than men on average. [3] Multiple researchers have found that women cry more frequently, and for longer durations than men at similar ages. [4] [5] The gender differences appear to peak in the most fertile years. [6] This is possibly due to hormonal differences, as several studies have shown that certain sex hormones influence the way that emotions are expressed. [7]

Other researchers found this gender difference decreases over time. In Handbook of Emotions, Leslie R. Brody and Judith A. Hall report that this difference in emotional expression starts at a young age, as early as 4 and 6 years old, as girls begin to express more sadness and anxiety than their male counterparts. [8] Brody and Hall (2008) report that women generally smile, laugh, nod, and use hand gestures more than men do. The only known exception to this rule is that men more frequently express anger. However, all of these effects are not commonly observed until after preschool, suggesting that these differences might be the result of certain socialization processes. [2] Women are also more accurate at expressing their emotions, when "posing deliberately and when observed unobtrusively." [8] This increased expressiveness in emotional expression and is consistent across cultures, with women reporting more intense emotional experiences and more overt emotional expressions across 37 cultures. [9]

It has been found that men and women each more accurately display gender-stereotypic expressions: men more accurately express anger, contempt, and happiness[ clarification needed ], while women more accurately express fear and happiness. [8] Other studies have shown that women show higher levels of expression accuracy and judgement of nonverbal emotional cues than men overall. These patterns are not consistent across cultures, suggesting that socialization influences gender differences in emotional expression. For example, research has suggested that in Japan, women convey anger and contempt better than men do. [8]

Major empirical findings

Some research has shown that culture and context-specific gender roles have a stronger influence on emotional expression than do biological factors. In a 2002 paper, Wester et al. conclude: "In sum, empirical evidence suggests that girls are socialized to be emotional, nonaggressive, nurturing, and obedient, whereas boys are socialized to be unemotional, aggressive, achievement oriented, and self-reliant. Peers continue this process as children develop and mature in effect constraining how, where, why, and with whom certain emotions are expressed." [10] In one cross-cultural study, it was shown that in nearly all cultures, women generally cry more than men; however, the gender difference tends to be more significant in democratic and affluent countries. [11]

Another study suggests that people tend to exhibit more intense negative facial expressions in solitary conditions, and smile more when others are present. In this experiment, men and women did not differ in their anger expression in non-social conditions. However, women were more likely to express their anger in the solitary condition as opposed to the social condition. Men, on the other hand, seemed to be less concerned with appearing positive to others; they showed no difference in their expression of anger based on whether or not others were present. [12]

In another recent study, Coats and Feldman found that women who were more accurate at expressing happiness were judged as more popular, while men who were more accurate at expressing anger were judged as more popular. [13] This suggests that there are negative consequences for people who are less accurate at expressing gender-stereotypical emotions.

These consequences also extend to judging others' emotions. Studies have shown that there are negative social consequences for children who are deficient at judging gender-stereotypic nonverbal cues—angry nonverbal cues for boys, and happy, sad, and fearful nonverbal cues for girls. Communication of emotion involves both detection and expression of emotions or moods. The ability to detect non-verbal cues leads to successful communication of emotions. In computer-mediated communication (CMC), the absence of body language and visibility restricts one's ability to correctly recognize others' emotions. For this reason, emoticons are widely used in online communication to replace non-verbal behaviors that emphasize or clarify one's feelings. Surprisingly, there is no static gender difference in the use of emoticons. In some studies, both men and women display an increase in emoticon use in the context of a mixed-gender group chat. Others show that men use more emoticons when interacting with women, while women show no change when interacting with men. [12]

Nature versus nurture

The social-developmental hypothesis is one of the major arguments for the impact of nurture on emotional expression. The social-developmental theory explains gender differences in emotion expression through emphasizing "children's active role in their development of gendered behavior" through learning by watching adults or through interactions with their parents and peers. [14] This hypothesis points to the fact that infants are not born with the same differences in emotional expression, and gender differences generally grow more pronounced as children age. In a 2012 meta-analysis conducted by Tara M. Chaplin and Amelia Aldao, researchers reviewed gender differences in emotion expression from the infancy period through adolescence in order to determine the impact of development and age on gender differences. Their findings support the notion that social factors in a child's development play a large role in the gender differences that later emerge, as "gender differences were not found in infancy…but they emerged by the toddler/preschool period and in childhood". [14] One possible explanation for this developmental difference comes from the child's parents. In many Western cultures, for example, parents discuss and express a broader range of emotions with their daughters than with their sons. [15] As children grow older, these patterns continue with their peers.

The second major argument in support of social influences on emotion expression involves the idea that a society's gender roles reinforce gender differences. Social constructionism states that children grow up in the context of gender roles that naturally place them in role-specific situations, influencing their emotion expression in that context. Gender stereotypes in heteronormative societies enforce expectations for women to suppress anger and contempt, but express other emotions using words and facial expressions; and discourage men from verbally expressing emotions, with the exception of anger or contempt. [15] As an adaptive feature, regulation of expression of emotion involves consideration of the social demands of any given situation. Studies have shown that "fewer gender differences in emotion expression may be found when children are with someone they trust and know well than when children are with an unfamiliar person". [14] Generally, people are trained to behave in a "socially acceptable" way around strangers or acquaintances, suggesting that the social context of an environment can shape the levels of emotion expression.

Biological factors also play a role in influencing emotion expression. One central biological argument is related to cognitive differences between genders. In a 2008 study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain activity in participants, researchers found that men and women differ in neural responses when experiencing negative emotions. The authors of the study state: "Compared with women, men showed lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing." [16] The way that male and female brains respond to emotions likely impacts the expression of those emotions.

The biological roots of gender differences interact with the social environment in various ways. Biological theorists propose that females and males have innate differences that exist at birth, but unfold with age and maturation in response to interactions with their specific environments. [14] An important argument for this viewpoint is that "gender differences in emotion expression are the result of a combination of biologically based temperamental predispositions and the socialization of boys and girls to adopt gender-related display rules for emotion expression". [17] It has been suggested that even infant males display higher levels of activity and arousal than do infant girls as well as a lower ability for language and behavior inhibitory controls, which are biologically based characteristics. This "nature" argument interacts with "nurture" in that "parents and other socialization agents may respond to boys in ways that dampen emotional expressiveness…as a way to down-regulate their high emotional arousal and activity levels". [14] On the other hand, girls are encouraged to utilize their communication skills to verbally express their emotions to parents and other adults, which would also highlight expression differences between genders.

Controversies

Emotions are complex and involve different components, such as physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience. While the expressive component of emotion has been widely studied, it remains unclear whether or not men and women differ in other aspects of emotion. Most researchers agree that women are more emotionally expressive, but not that they experience more emotions than men do. [3] Some studies have shown that women are more likely to produce inauthentic smiles than men do, while others have shown the opposite. This debate is significant because emotion can be generated by adopting an action that is associated with a particular emotion, such as smiling and speaking softly. [8]

A possible explanation is that both men and women's emotional expressiveness is susceptible to social factors. Men and women may be reinforced by social and cultural standards to express emotions differently, but it is not necessarily true in terms of experiencing emotions. For instance, studies suggest that women often occupy roles that conform to feminine display rules, which require them to amplify their emotional response to impress others. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

A gender role, or sex role, is a set of socially accepted behaviors and attitudes deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity, although there are exceptions and variations.

A facial expression is one or more motions or positions of the muscles beneath the skin of the face. According to one set of controversial theories, these movements convey the emotional state of an individual to observers. Facial expressions are a form of nonverbal communication. They are a primary means of conveying social information between humans, but they also occur in most other mammals and some other animal species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Body language</span> Type of nonverbal communication

Body language is a type of communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use of space. The term body language is usually applied in regard to people but may also be applied to animals. The study of body language is also known as kinesics. Although body language is an important part of communication, most of it happens without conscious awareness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonverbal communication</span> Interpersonal communication through wordless (mostly visual) cues

Nonverbal communication (NVC) is the transmission of messages or signals through a nonverbal platform such as eye contact (oculesics), body language (kinesics), social distance (proxemics), touch (haptics), voice (paralanguage), physical environments/appearance, and use of objects. When communicating, we utilize nonverbal channels as means to convey different messages or signals, whereas others can interpret these message. The study of nonverbal communication started in 1872 with the publication of The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals by Charles Darwin. Darwin began to study nonverbal communication as he noticed the interactions between animals such as lions, tigers, dogs etc. and realized they also communicated by gestures and expressions. For the first time, nonverbal communication was studied and its relevance questioned. Today, scholars argue that nonverbal communication can convey more meaning than verbal communication.(no it can't)

Emotional labor is the process of managing feelings and expressions to fulfill the emotional requirements of a job. More specifically, workers are expected to regulate their personas during interactions with customers, co-workers, clients, and managers. This includes analysis and decision-making in terms of the expression of emotion, whether actually felt or not, as well as its opposite: the suppression of emotions that are felt but not expressed. This is done so as to produce a certain feeling in the customer or client that will allow the company or organization to succeed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contempt</span> Disgust and anger towards something or someone

In colloquial usage, contempt usually refers to either the act of despising, or having a general lack of respect for something. This set of emotions generally produces maladaptive behaviour. Other authors define contempt as a negative emotion rather than the constellation of mentality and feelings that produce an attitude. Paul Ekman categorises contempt as the seventh basic emotion, along with anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. Robert C. Solomon places contempt on the same emotional continuum as resentment and anger, and he argues that the differences between the three are that resentment is anger directed towards a higher-status individual; anger is directed towards an equal-status individual; and contempt is anger directed towards a lower-status individual.

Sex differences in psychology are differences in the mental functions and behaviors of the sexes and are due to a complex interplay of biological, developmental, and cultural factors. Differences have been found in a variety of fields such as mental health, cognitive abilities, personality, emotion, sexuality, friendship, and tendency towards aggression. Such variation may be innate, learned, or both. Modern research attempts to distinguish between these causes and to analyze any ethical concerns raised. Since behavior is a result of interactions between nature and nurture, researchers are interested in investigating how biology and environment interact to produce such differences, although this is often not possible.

An emotional expression is a behavior that communicates an emotional state or attitude. It can be verbal or nonverbal, and can occur with or without self-awareness. Emotional expressions include facial movements like smiling or scowling, simple behaviors like crying, laughing, or saying "thank you," and more complex behaviors like writing a letter or giving a gift. Individuals have some conscious control of their emotional expressions; however, they need not have conscious awareness of their emotional or affective state in order to express emotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frown</span> Facial expression

A frown is a facial expression in which the eyebrows are brought together, and the forehead is wrinkled, usually indicating displeasure, sadness or worry, or less often confusion or concentration. The appearance of a frown varies by culture. An alternative usage in North America is thought of as an expression of the mouth. In those cases when used iconically, as with an emoticon, it is entirely presented by the curve of the lips forming a down-open curve. The mouth expression is also commonly referred to in the colloquial English phrase, especially in the United States, to "turn that frown upside down" which indicates changing from sad to happy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emotionality</span>

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According to some theories, emotions are universal phenomena, albeit affected by culture. Emotions are "internal phenomena that can, but do not always, make themselves observable through expression and behavior". While some emotions are universal and are experienced in similar ways as a reaction to similar events across all cultures, other emotions show considerable cultural differences in their antecedent events, the way they are experienced, the reactions they provoke and the way they are perceived by the surrounding society. According to other theories, termed social constructionist, emotions are more deeply culturally influenced. The components of emotions are universal, but the patterns are social constructions. Some also theorize that culture is affected by the emotions of the people.

Display rules are a social group or culture's informal norms that distinguish how one should express themselves. They can be described as culturally prescribed rules that people learn early on in their lives by interactions and socializations with other people. They learn these cultural standards at a young age which determine when one would express certain emotions, where and to what extent.

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Non-verbal leakage is a form of non-verbal behavior that occurs when a person verbalizes one thing, but their body language indicates another, common forms of which include facial movements and hand-to-face gestures. The term "non-verbal leakage" got its origin in literature in 1968, leading to many subsequent studies on the topic throughout the 1970s, with related studies continuing today.

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References

  1. ↑ Wester, S.; Vogel, D.; Pressly, P.; Heesacker, M. (2002). "Sex Differences in Emotion: A Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Counseling Psychology". The Counseling Psychologist. 30 (4): 630–652. doi:10.1177/00100002030004008. S2CID   145737877.
  2. 1 2 3 Jansz, J (2000). "Masculine identity and restrictive emotionality". Gender and Emotion. pp. 166–186. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511628191.009. ISBN   9780511628191.{{cite book}}: |journal= ignored (help)
  3. 1 2 Kring, A. M.; Gordon, A. H. (1998). "Sex differences in emotion: expression, experience, and physiology". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 74 (3): 686–703. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.379.5826 . doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.3.686. PMID   9523412.
  4. ↑ Madison, Guy; Dutton, Edward (2019), "Sex Differences in Crying", in Shackelford, Todd K.; Weekes-Shackelford, Viviana A. (eds.), Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 1–4, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3858-1, ISBN   978-3-319-16999-6, S2CID   210503968
  5. ↑ De Fruyt, Filip (June 1997). "Gender and individual differences in adult crying". Personality and Individual Differences. 22 (6): 937–940. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(96)00264-4.
  6. ↑ Denckla, Christy A.; Fiori, Katherine L.; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M. (2014-11-02). "Development of the Crying Proneness Scale: Associations Among Crying Proneness, Empathy, Attachment, and Age". Journal of Personality Assessment. 96 (6): 619–631. doi:10.1080/00223891.2014.899498. ISSN   0022-3891. PMID   24730588. S2CID   43013787.
  7. ↑ Graham, Bronwyn M.; Denson, Thomas F.; Barnett, Justine; Calderwood, Clare; Grisham, Jessica R. (2018-06-11). "Sex Hormones Are Associated With Rumination and Interact With Emotion Regulation Strategy Choice to Predict Negative Affect in Women Following a Sad Mood Induction". Frontiers in Psychology. 9: 937. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00937 . ISSN   1664-1078. PMC   6008526 . PMID   29951019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Brody, L. R.; Hall, J. A. (2008). "Gender and emotion in context". Handbook of Emotions. 3: 395–408.
  9. ↑ Fischer, A. H., & Manstead, A. S. R. (2000). The relation between gender and emotion in different cultures. In A. H. Fischer (Ed.), Gender and emotion: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 71–98). New York: Cambridge University Press.
  10. ↑ Wester, S.; Vogel, D.; Pressly, P.; Heesacker, M. (2002). "Sex Differences in Emotion: A Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Counseling Psychology" (PDF). The Counseling Psychologist. 30 (4): 630–652. doi:10.1177/00100002030004008. S2CID   145737877.
  11. ↑ van Hemert, Dianne A.; van de Vijver, Fons J. R.; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M. (2011-04-28). "Culture and Crying". Cross-Cultural Research. 45 (4): 399–431. doi:10.1177/1069397111404519. ISSN   1069-3971. S2CID   53367887.
  12. 1 2 3 Derks, Daantje; Fischer, Agneta H.; Bos, Arjan E.R. (2008). "The role of emotion in computer-mediated communication: A review". Computers in Human Behavior. 24 (3): 766–785. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2007.04.004. S2CID   15024046.
  13. ↑ Coats, E. J.; Feldman, R. S. (1996). "Gender differences in nonverbal correlates of social status". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 22 (10): 1014–1022. doi:10.1177/01461672962210004. S2CID   144652451.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Chaplin, T.; Aldao, A. (2012). "Gender differences in emotion expression in children: A meta-analytic review" (PDF). Psychological Bulletin. 139 (4): 735–765. doi:10.1037/a0030737. PMC   3597769 . PMID   23231534.
  15. 1 2 Wester, S.; Vogel, D.; Pressly, P.; Heesacker, M. (2002). "Sex Differences in Emotion: A Critical Review of the Literature and Implications for Counseling Psychology" (PDF). The Counseling Psychologist. 30 (4): 630–652. doi:10.1177/00100002030004008. S2CID   145737877.
  16. ↑ McRae, K.; Ochsner, K. N.; Mauss, I. B.; Gabrieli, J. J.; Gross, J. J. (2008). "Gender differences in emotion regulation: An fMRI study of cognitive reappraisal" (PDF). Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. 11 (2): 143–162. doi:10.1177/1368430207088035. PMC   5937254 . PMID   29743808.
  17. ↑ Brody, L (1997). "Gender and Emotion: Beyond Stereotypes". Journal of Social Issues. 53 (2): 369–394. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1997.tb02448.x.
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