1 Psychology 320: Gender Psychology Lecture 30

2 Exam: December 15, 3:30-6:30, Osborne A In addition to questions associated with the lecture slides, the exam will include questions related to chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the textbook. The exam will include 30 multiple choice questions (1 point each), 5 definitions (2 points each), and several short answer questions (2-12 points each). The exam is worth 20% of your final grade. The exam will be scored out of 75 points.

3 Please bring a pencil, eraser, pen, and your student ID to the exam. All electronic devices must be put away before the start of the exam. All backpacks/bags should be placed at the front, back, or sides of the examination room. Hats (e.g., baseball caps) should not be worn during the exam.

Office Hours Prior to the exam, I will have additional office hours. If you require assistance, please feel free to see me at any of the following times: Monday, December 7, 12:00-1:30. Thursday, December 10, 9:00-10:30. Friday, December 11, 2:30-4:30.

5 Emotion: 1. Are there sex differences in emotional expression? 2. What is restrictive emotionality?

6 Are there sex differences in emotional expression? A substantial body of research has demonstrated sex differences in emotional expression. Among the research findings that have demonstrated sex differences in emotional expression are the following:

7 Preschool children show no sex differences in emotional expression; however, consistent differences in emotional expression emerge by age six, with girls displaying more emotion than boys. These differences have been attributed to parents’ greater expression of emotion with daughters than sons (Adams et al., 1995). Adolescent boys are more likely than adolescent girls to deny having ever had an emotional experience (Stapely & Haviland, 1989).

8 Female undergraduates rate themselves higher on spontaneous emotional expression, whereas male undergraduates rate themselves higher on emotional control (Guerrero & Reiter, 1998). Among non-student samples, adult women indicate that they engage in more emotionally expressive behaviour than adult men (Simon and Nath, 2004).

9 Women and men are able to identify the emotions of females more readily than the emotions of males (LaFrance & Banaji, 1992). Physiological measures reveal greater facial reactivity (vs. autonomic reactivity) among females than males when experiencing similar emotions (Kring & Gordon, 1998; Thunberg & Dimberg, 2000).

10 FemalesMales Corrugator Response Skin Conductance Response.146 Unpleasantness Rating (0-9) Mean Corrugator Supercilii Responses, Skin Conductance Responses and Unpleasantness Ratings for Fear-Relevant Stimuli for Females and Males (Thunberg & Dimberg, 2000)

11 Seven display rules have been identified: Amplification, unmodified expression, qualification, deamplification, masking, neutralization, and simulation. Theorists maintain that sex differences in emotional expression are the result of socially and culturally constructed display rules: “Norms regarding the expected management of facial appearance” (Ekman, 1973).

12 Display rules encourage the expression of most emotions by females and discourage the expression of most emotions by males (e.g., Safdar et al., 2009). Exceptions: Anger, contempt, pride.

13 Research indicates that gender is a better predictor of emotional expression than sex: Kring and Gordon (1998)  Asked participants to complete the BSRI.  Examined participants emotional expression in response to film clips designed to evoke distinct emotional experiences.

14 Frequency of Expressions by Sex (Kring and Gordon, 1998) Frequency

15 Frequency of Expressions by Gender Role Classification (Kring and Gordon, 1998) Frequency

16 What is restrictive emotionality? Refers to the limited emotional expression associated with the male gender role. Restrictive emotionality is fostered among males through: observation of male role models, interpersonal familial dynamics, and social rewards and punishments.

17 Consider your reaction to the following conversation between “Mike” and “Jim”: Mike, I’ve been so upset since we had that argument, I could hardly sleep last night. Are you sure you’re really not mad at me? Jim, I’m so relieved …. I was just as afraid that you’d be mad at me!

18 Restrictive emotionality has been associated with a number of adverse consequences: anxiety. physiological distress. depression. anger. homophobia. relationship difficulties. alexithymia. use of “immature” and “neurotic” ego defenses.

19 With respect to defense mechanisms, Mahalik et al. (1998) investigated the relationship between restrictive emotionality and the use of mature vs. immature defense mechanisms among males. Examples of mature defense mechanisms: Sublimation, humour, anticipation, suppression. Examples of immature defense mechanisms: Isolation, autistic fantasy, denial, displacement, somatization.

20 Found that males who were high in restrictive emotionality were more likely than males who were low in restrictive emotionality to use immature defense mechanisms.

21 With respect to anger, Long (1987) has described anger as the “male emotional funnel system.” Cohn, Seibert, and Zeichner (2009) investigated the relationship between restrictive emotionality and physical aggression among males. Found that males who were high in restrictive emotionality were more likely than males who were low in restrictive emotionality to administer high-intensity shocks to an opponent.

22 Emotion: 1. Are there sex differences in emotional expression? 2. What is restrictive emotionality?