Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity

Summary

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.

Key Points

• 1The study found that men have greater decreases in heart rate during specific emotional stimuli
• 2Women report heightened levels of arousal across various emotions
• 3Emotional responses differ significantly based on the type of emotion rather than just valence
• 4Previous studies have shown mixed results regarding gender differences in emotional responses
• 5The research highlights the importance of differentiating between emotional experience and expressivity in future studies.

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