Summary: Contrary
to popular myths on stereotypes, women are not more emotional than men,
researchers report. A new study reveals men’s emotions fluctuate just
as much as women’s do.
Source: University of Michigan
Contrary to widely held gender stereotypes, women are not more emotional than men, researchers say.
Feelings
such as enthusiasm, nervousness or strength are often interpreted
differently between the two genders. It’s what being “emotional” means
to men vs. women that is part of a new University of Michigan study that
dispels these biases.
For
instance, a man whose emotions fluctuate during a sporting event is
described as “passionate.” But a woman whose emotions change due to any
event, even if provoked, is considered “irrational,” says the study’s
senior author Adriene Beltz, U-M assistant professor of psychology.
Beltz and colleagues Alexander Weigard, U-M assistant professor of psychiatry, and Amy Loviska,
a graduate student at Purdue University, followed 142 men and women
over 75 days to learn more about their daily emotions, both positive and
negative. The women were divided into four groups: one naturally
cycling and three others using different forms of oral contraceptives.
The
researchers detected fluctuations in emotions three different ways, and
then compared the sexes. They found little-to-no differences between
the men and the various groups of women, suggesting that men’s emotions
fluctuate to the same extent as women’s do (although likely for
different reasons).
“We
also didn’t find meaningful differences between the groups of women,
making clear that emotional highs and lows are due to many
influences—not only hormones,” she said.
The
findings have implications beyond everyday people, the researchers say.
Women have historically been excluded from research participation in
part due to the assumption that ovarian hormone fluctuations lead to
variation, especially in emotion, that can’t be experimentally
controlled, they say.
“Our
study uniquely provides psychological data to show that the
justifications for excluding women in the first place (because
fluctuating ovarian hormones, and consequently emotions, confounded
experiments) were misguided,” Beltz said.
About this psychology research news
Author: Jared Wadley
Source: University of Michigan
Contact: Jared Wadley – University of Michigan
Image: The image is in the public domain
Original Research: Open access.
“Little evidence for sex or ovarian hormone influences on affective variability” by Adriene Beltz et al. Scientific Reports
