Sex differences in recipients' reactions to aid

The purpose of this study was to determine whether males and females differentially respond to the receipt of aid as a function of their similarity to the donor and their own chronic level of self-esteem. Female and male adults received either help from a fictitious partner or no aid. All subjects were given information that they had been paired with a partner who had an inferior, similar, or superior level of task-relevant experience. Females paired with a partner of equal experience reported greater decrements in situational self-esteem than did males. Furthermore, females who received help reported a higher level of satisfaction with the help, and in all but one of the similarity conditions, females expressed a greater need for help than did males. When self-esteem was considered, high self-esteem females paired with persons with similar experience exhibited greater decrements in mood than did other high self-esteem females; males did not differ across conditions. Implications of the obtained sex differences were discussed in relation to sex differences in help-seeking behavior and sex role stereotypes.The authors would like to express their gratitude to Rob Beller, Mary Greenspun, Cheryl Hepfel, and Andrea Nagel, who assisted in data collection, and to Sanford Braver, who assisted with analyses. Thanks are also extended to Paul Karoly, Clark Presson, and Manuel Barrera for their advice throughout the completion of this study. The study was completed as partial fulfillment for the requirements of a master's degree by the first author at Arizona State University.     

Sex differences in reactions to evaluative feedback

Two studies tested the influence of various types of verbal evaluative feedback men's and women's self-evaluations of their performance in achievenment situations. We tested a theory that women perceive evaluative feedback, particularly negative feedback, to be more informative about their abilities than do men. Because of this, women's self-assessments of their abilities are more straightforwardly influenced by evaluative feedback than are men's. In contrast, men take a more self-promotional approach to evaluative situations, and therefore are more selective in their responses to feedback. Results from our questionnaire study showed that women's self-evaluations were influenced by both positive and negative evaluative statements. Men allowed positive feedback to influence them more than negative feedback, and were less influenced overall by negative feedback than women. Furthermore, women reported that evaluative feedback, particularly negative feedback, contained more information relevant to their abilities than men. Our laboratory study showed that women's actual self-evaluations were impacted differently by positive and negative feedback, whereas men's were not. In addition, we found some evidence to indicate that women were more negatively influenced by feedback that was positively toned, yet irrelevant with respect to their performance, than men. This finding underscores the fact that the focus, and not just the valence, of evaluative feedback plays an important role in men's and women's responses to it.     

Sex differences in adolescent ethanol drinking to behavioral intoxication

Rodent models have been especially useful for investigating adolescent ethanol exposure. However, there is a paucity of studies examining sex differences in behavioral intoxication from adolescent ethanol drinking. Here, we used an ethanol drinking model to investigate if adolescent rats of both sexes readily drink ethanol to measurable behavioral intoxication, indicated by increased impulsive action and motor incoordination. Beginning on postnatal day (P) 28, male and female Long‐Evans rats were given 30‐min access to a solution of sucrose (20%) or sweetened ethanol (20% sucrose +15% ethanol) every other day until P60 and once after 2 weeks of forced abstinence (on P75). On alternate (nondrinking) days, rats were reinforced with a food pellet for making a cued nosepoke response. Beginning on P56, rats were tested in this task after drinking sessions to assess ethanol‐induced changes in impulsive action, defined as premature responding prior to cue presentation. Motor coordination was assessed before and after drinking sessions using an incline plane test. Adolescent male and female rats readily consumed ethanol to behavioral intoxication, measured as reduced motor coordination. Following forced abstinence, females displayed greater ethanol‐induced impulsive action. These studies provide evidence for sex differences in behavioral intoxication following adolescent ethanol drinking.     

Facial reactions to auditory stimuli: Sex differences

This study explored whether males and females differ in facial muscle activity when exposed to tone stimuli with different intensity. Males and females were repeatedly exposed to 95 dB and 75 dB 1000 Hz tones while their facial electromyographic (EMG) activity from corrugator and zygomatic muscle regions were measured. Skin conductance responses were also measured. It was found that 95 dB but not 75 dB tones evoked increased corrugator activity. This effect differed significantly between males and females. Thus, it was only females that reacted with a significant increased corrugator response to the high intensity tone. While facial responses differed between the sexes, the skin conductance response patterns did not. Consistent with previous research it is concluded that females are more facially expressive than are males.     

Automatic emotion regulation during anger provocation

Individuals frequently have to regulate their emotions, especially negative ones, to function successfully. However, deliberate emotion regulation can have significant costs for the individual. Are there less costly ways to achieve emotion regulatory goals? In two studies, we test the hypothesis that more automatic types of emotion regulation might provide the benefits of deliberate emotion regulation without the costs. Study 1 introduces a priming technique that manipulates automatic emotion regulation. Using this priming technique, we show that relative to priming emotion expression, priming emotion control leads to less anger experience in response to a laboratory anger provocation. Study 2 examines the experiential and physiological consequences of automatic emotion regulation. Results suggest that relative to priming emotion expression, priming emotion control reduces negative emotion experience without maladaptive cardiovascular responding. Together, these findings suggest that automatic emotion regulation may provide an effective means of controlling powerful negative emotions.     

Sex differences in reactions to outperforming same‐sex friends

The current studies were designed to examine whether female adolescents have more negative reactions than male adolescents to achieving more than their same‐sex friends. In Study 1, 51 females and 48 males from grades 8 and 10 were administered questions assessing their reactions to performing better than their closest same‐sex friends in four domains. Across domains, females reported more negative reactions than males. Further, compared with males, female participants believed that their same‐sex friends would have more negative reactions if they performed better than their friends. In Study 2, 48 females and 49 males age 18 years were asked how they felt about performing better than and equal to their closest same‐sex friends in the domains of romance and academics in both hypothetical and actual situations. Females reported feeling more positive when they received the same outcomes as opposed to better outcomes than their friends. Males did not differ in the valence of their responses to the two outcomes. The implications for sex differences in achievement and friendship are discussed.     

Sex differences in behavioral and cognitive aspects of decision control

Sex differences in three components of decision control were examined in a series of studies utilizing 4-, 9-, and 14-year-old subjects. These components were actual decision control behavior, the cognitive understanding of the masculine or feminine nature of decision control, and the self-perception of decision control skills. At the behavioral level, boys controlled more decision outcomes than girls, especially at the oldest age grouping. In the area of self-perception, girls were less likely to perceive themselves as decision controllers compared to their male counterparts in the oldest age grouping. As far as general attitudes were concerned, neither boys nor girls equated decision control with masculinity. Results are discussed in terms of the socialization of powerlessness in women.     

Sex differences in anxiety,curiosity, and anger: A cross-cultural study

The major aim of the present study was to examine sex-group differences in anxiety, curiosity, and anger, as states and traits, among Israeli college students, and to compare the data with norms available for American students. The sample was composed of 223 female and 151 male students who were administered the Hebrew version of Spielberger's State-Trait Personality Inventory (STPI/HB). Significant differences in the STPI/HB profile for males and females were observed, with greater sex-group differentiation on the trait scales than on the state scales. Specifically, Israeli females show higher levels of Trait-Anxiety and Trait-Anger than Israeli males, whereas higher levels of State-Curiosity are observed among the latter. Overall, the sex difference profiles are highly comparable for Israeli and American college students. Observed sex-group differences are discussed and explicated.The authors wish to thank Prof. Shlomo Breznitz, of the University of Haifa, and Prof. Charles Spielberger, of the University of South Florida, for their interest in and support of this research. Thanks are also due to Smadar Ashuach and Orli Tamam-Karbi for their help in data collection. The order of authorship was determined alphabetically and both authors contributed equally to this paper.     

Cognitive reappraisal increases heart rate variability in response to an anger provocation

Adaptive self-regulatory responses to negative events are associated with good mental health, social functioning, and physical health. Two forms of emotion regulation that have received attention within the context of anger are cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Research suggests that greater heart rate variability (HRV) is a physiological indicator of adaptive emotion regulation and decreased mental load. In the present experiment, we recorded HRV while 131 undergraduate women viewed an anger-inducing video of a fellow student arguing for a position counter to that of the participant on an important political issue. Immediately prior to viewing, participants were instructed to reappraise, suppress their emotions, or simply watch the video as normal. Participants in the reappraisal condition showed increased HRV whereas those in the suppression and control condition showed no such increase. These results provide support for increased HRV as a biological correlate of adaptive emotion regulation. One implication is that cognitive reappraisal might afford greater autonomic flexibility when an individual is confronted with anger-inducing events.     

Sex differences in relationships among anger, depression, and coping strategies of Japanese students

This study investigated sex differences in the relationships among an ger, depression, and coping strategies. Undergraduate students, 77 men and 130 women, 3 not identified by sex, voluntarily participated. Participants made ratings on a self-report about anger, depression, coping strategies, and mental health. Analyses showed that women who reported themselves as angry tended to cope with stress by optimistic and active strategies, while women who reported themselves as depressed tended to cope with stress by withdrawn and passive strategies. Men who reported being depressed tended to select emotion-focused cognitive coping, while men who reported being angry selected no specific coping. Adoption of engaged emotion focused coping strategies were related to mental health only for women.     

Sex differences in anger expression,depressed mood,and aggression in children and adolescents

The current study examined anger expression styles and their relationship to levels of depressed mood and aggressive behavior in male and female children and adolescents. Measures of anger, anger expression, and depressed mood were collected from both children and their parents. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that anger expression significantly predicted sadness but not aggression for females, after accounting for age and anger level. Among males, anger expression was important in predicting aggression but not sadness, whereas age and anger level best predicted sadness. These results suggest that age, anger level, and anger expression may be risk factors for depression and aggression among children and adolescents. Sex appears to be an important factor in anger expression styles and related depression and aggressive behavior.     

Type A behavior,anger expression,and reactions to anger imagery

The experiment investigated the effects of Type A behavior, anger expression, and gender on perceptions of control and heart rate. Jenkins Activity Survey defined Type A and B subjects, categorized as either high or low in anger expression, were asked to recall, image, and generate self-referent statements about angry situations. State anger and heart rate were measured during all of the anger induction conditions, and ratings of imagery vividness and perceptions of control for self and others were taken following the recalled and imaged anger conditions. The results, with both the heart rate and self-report measures, indicated that the effects of the independent variables were interactive and situationally dependent. Type A behavior was associated with increased heart rate in two experimental conditions (mood anger and recalled anger), and, in one instance, this effect was amplified in male subjects (recalled anger). The self-report results yielded interactional effects that most commonly took the form of high anger expression, with male Type A's providing higher ratings of state anger, more vivid anger imagery, and lower perceived self-control ratings than did other categories of subjects. Taken together, these results suggest that anger expressiveness, particularly among males, amplifies the usual reactions attributed to Type A's, and that such effects are mediated by the threat of loss of control. Further, the observed interactive relationships limit the generalizability of A/B differences and raise definitional questions about Type A behavior.     

Sex differences in the behavioral responses of dogs exposed to human chemosignals of fear and happiness

Animal Cognition - This research focuses on sex differences in the behavioral patterns of dogs when they are exposed to human chemosignals (sweat) produced in happy and fear contexts. No age, breed...     

Sex differences in the relation of depressive symptoms, hostility, and anger expression to indices of glucose metabolism in nondiabetic adults.

This study examined the relation of depressive symptomatology, hostility, and anger expression to indices of glucose metabolism and tested whether gender moderates these associations in a sample of 135 healthy, nondiabetic adults (75 men, 60 women). The severity of depressive symptoms, hostility, and anger expression was positively associated with estimated insulin resistance (IR) and insulin in women but not in men. Anger expression was positively associated with glucose in women only. A summary score of depressive symptoms, hostility, and anger expression was positively associated with estimated IR, insulin, and glucose in women but not in men. Hence, in women, IR and elevated levels of fasting insulin and glucose may be one pathophysiological mechanism mediating the increased risk of cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes associated with these psychological attributes.     

Sex differences in problems related to depression

The study investigated possible sex differences in the types of problems that are correlated with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores, using a sample of college students. Problems related to assertiveness and feeling ill at ease were positively correlated with BDI scores for males, but not for females. In contrast, conflicts with parents, feelings of being boxed in and of boredom, lack of money, and chronic physical complaints were positively related to BDI scores for females, but not for males.     

Sex differences in susceptibility to social influence

Sex differences in compliance and persuasiveness were examined while varying the sex-role relevance of the stimulus. Undergraduate students were asked to respond to opinion statements previously discussed by a fictitious group. Subjects read the group's unanimous opinion accompanying each statement and were told they would participate in a discussion with this group. Some subjects responded to statements about female sex-role relevant activities and others to statements about male sex-role relevant activities. Sex of influence source was manipulated by showing subjects all male or all female names of group members. Compliance was measured by the extent to which a subject's response approximated the group's opinion. The results show that males were more compliant than females when the stimulus statements concerned female sex-role-related activities and that females were more easily influenced when they responded to statements about male sex-role-related activities. Further, subjects were somewhat more easily persuaded by women on female sex-role-related activities and more influenced by men's opinions on issues relevant for males.In most of the social influence literature, alterations in a subject's behavior in an experimental situation has been termed conformity. However, conformity may involve either private acceptance or overt alterations in behavior without cognitive change (i.e., compliance). Throughout this article the term compliance refers to shifts in behavior toward an immediate and transitory social influence (Sherif & Sherif, 1969, p. 191).     

The impact of non‐aggressive behaviour early in aggressive interactions: Sex differences in direct and indirect aggression in response to provocation

Using an adapted form of the Taylor competitive reaction time task (TCRT: Taylor, 1967), we examined the effect of initially non‐aggressive behaviour during aggressive encounters. Specifically, if a person is initially non‐aggressive, but becomes more aggressive later, does an opponent respond more or less aggressively in response? Participants (N = 148) played a competitive reaction time task against a bogus partner, who was either initially non‐aggressive, or initially moderately aggressive, and then delivered increasingly loud noise blasts to participants on trials when the participant lost. Both direct (noise blasts delivered to the partner) and indirect aggression (damage to partner's reputation) were assessed. The impact of whether or not participants expected to meet the partner on direct and indirect aggression was also examined. All participants reduced their direct aggression towards an initially non‐aggressive partner and a partner they expected to meet. However, for females, the switch from initial non‐aggression to later aggression generated a negative evaluation of the partner, exhibited by indirect but not direct aggression.     

Interpersonal reactions toward depression and anger

Two studies examined the effect of interpersonal attitude on reactions toward others' expression of anger or depression, Participants read a story in which their schoolmate experienced a negative event and expressed anger or depression, and reported their perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioural intentions such as support or rejection. The results indicated that an expression of anger elicited more negative reactions than an expression of depression only when a person whom participants disliked expressed the emotion. Furthermore, structural equation modelling indicated that the effect of interpersonal attitude on sympathy, blame, and support intention was mediated by the perception of the distressfulness of the event. The discussion considered the processes through which the expression of negative emotions evokes positive or negative interpersonal reactions.     

Sex differences in expected guilt reactions to hypothetical behaviors of sexual, hostile, and moral substance.

Differences between male and female guilt reactions to hypothetical guilt-inducing situations of a sexual, hostile, and moral nature were investigated. Two independent samples of Ss (56 men, 56 women; and 34 men, 62 women) reported the intensity of their anticipated guilt reactions to 60 hypothetical behavior situations presented in sentence-completion format through the use of scaled response alternatives. Across both samples there were specific behaviors, in which stable sex differences were evidenced, i.e., females' reactions were more intense for those behaviors reflecting sexual transgressions. However, males and females were highly similar in their reactions to hostile and moral guilt-provoking situations. Implications of these results for research on trait-guilt were discussed.