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Gender

Across cultures, women report experiencing more sadness, fear, shame, and guilt than men, while men report feeling more anger and other hostile emotions (Fischer, Rodriguez Mosquera, van Vianen, & Manstead, 2004). In Western cultures, gender differences in emotion derive in part from differences in how men and women orient to interpersonal relationships (Brody & Hall, 2000). Women are more likely than men to express emotions that support relationships and suppress emotions that assert their own interests over another’s (Zahn-Waxler, 2001). As a consequence, women may feel sadness more often than men, because sadness, unlike anger, isn’t directed outward at another person; thus, it doesn’t threaten relationships. Sadness communicates personal vulnerability and signals the need for comforting from others. It therefore reflects a willingness to submit oneself to the care of another. By contrast, anger conveys a motivation to achieve one’s own goals or to take satisfaction in one’s success over another’s (Chaplin, Cole, & Zahn-Waxler, 2005).

Though men and women may experience emotions with different frequency and express these emotions differently, when they experience the same emotions, there is no difference in the intensity of the emotion experienced (Fischer et al., 2004). Whether it’s anger, sadness, joy, or disgust, men and women experience these emotions with equal intensity.