Abstract
The present study investigated gender differences in both emotional experience and expressivity. Heart rate (HR) was recorded as an indicator of emotional experience while the participants watched 16 video clips that induced eight types of emotion (sadness, anger, horror, disgust, neutrality, amusement, surprise, and pleasure). We also asked the participants to report valence, arousal, and motivation as indicators of emotional expressivity. Overall, the results revealed gender differences in emotional experience and emotional expressivity. When watching videos that induced anger, amusement, and pleasure, men showed larger decreases in HR, whereas women reported higher levels of arousal. There was no gender difference in HR when the participants watched videos that induced horror and disgust, but women reported lower valence, higher arousal, and stronger avoidance motivation than did men. Finally, no gender difference was observed in sadness or surprise, although there was one exception—women reported higher arousal when watching videos that induced sadness. The findings suggest that, when watching videos that induce an emotional response, men often have more intense emotional experiences, whereas women have higher emotional expressivity, particularly for negative emotions. In addition, gender differences depend on the specific emotion type but not the valence.
Highlights
A common stereotype in both Western and Eastern cultures suggests that women are more emotional than men, when responding to negative emotions [1]
Further analyses were performed to test whether the gender differences in emotional expressivity and emotional experience depend on the emotion types
This study extends previous studies on gender differences in emotional responses evaluated according to emotional experience and emotional expressivity
Summary
A common stereotype in both Western and Eastern cultures suggests that women are more emotional than men, when responding to negative emotions [1]. Despite substantial efforts in gender differences in emotional responses over the past several decades, no consensus as to whether women are more emotional than men has been reached. Gard et al [1] stated that researchers should consider both emotional experience and emotional expressivity when investigating gender differences in emotional responses. PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0158666 June 30, 2016
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