Emotional perceptions of self and others: stereotypes and data

College Student Journal, March, 2004 by David Knox, Marty E. Zusman, Heather R. Thompson

One-hundred-and-ninety seven undergraduates at a large southeastern university completed a confidential anonymous 22-item questionnaire designed to assess the perception of various emotions in themselves and the other sex. The data revealed that men were significantly more likely to view themselves as competitive, sarcastic, and sexual than women (women viewed the presence of these emotional qualities in men the same way the men viewed themselves). Similarly, women were significantly more likely to view themselves as moody and easily embarrassed (men viewed the presence of these emotional qualities in women the same way the women viewed themselves). Implications of the data are suggested.

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"Don't Know Why" won the 2003 Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Record of the Year. Nora Jones was named Best New Artist. The lyrics to her song reflect the emotional ambivalence of continuing a love relationship ... "Don't know why I didn't come by..." The song also reflected the sadness in not understanding why the relationship was allowed to die. The success of the song was no doubt related to the ability of the song to capture the fact that emotions are a part of who we are.

Previous research on emotions has focused on gender reactions (Hutson-Comeaux and Kelly, 2002), personalities and emotion (Peter, et al. 2001), logic of emotions (Planalp and Fitness, 1999), and functions of emotions (Keltner and Haldt, 1999). This study focused on how men and women view themselves and the other sex in terms of emotional qualities and the degree to which these perceptions are stereotypical.

Sample and Methods

The sample consisted of 197 undergraduates at a large southeastern university who responded to an anonymous 22 item questionnaire designed to assess the emotional qualities in one's self and the other sex. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were female; twenty-nine percent were male. The median age of the respondents was 19 (age range 17 to 48) with most (80%) reporting that they were white and 20% nonwhite. Most (95%) had never been married. In regard to current relationship, almost a quarter (24%) were not involved with anyone, 14% were dating different people, 41% were dating or emotionally involved with one person. Seventeen percent were engaged or living together and 4% were married.

In order to determine whether differences existed between men and women in their emotional perceptions, difference of means tests were run. We note that additional tests were made to assure that the ordinal categories (Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree) were capable of being treated as interval for the means tests and they were. In each case, the appropriate F tests and degrees of freedom have not been included for the sake of brevity. What is included are the means for each category of the independent variable and the appropriate significance level.

Significant Findings and Discussion

Analysis of the data revealed several significant differences.

1. How men viewed themselves emotionally.

We asked men to identify emotional qualities in themselves.

a. Men saw themselves as competitive. Men rated themselves as significantly (p< .007) more competitive than women reported themselves as being. The closer the number to 1 the higher the level of perceived competitiveness; the closer the number to 4, the lower the level of perceived competitiveness. The men and women means on this variable were 1.8 and 2.18 respectively. That men dominate in the most competitive of sports (football, boxing, basketball) reflects the cultural stereotype of this emotional quality. Men also report working longer hours when compared to women (Clifford and Shoffner, 1992) which may be reflective of their being competitive in the workplace.

b. Men saw themselves as sarcastic. Men rated themselves as significantly (p< .05) more sarcastic than women reported themselves as being. The closer the number to 1 the higher the level of perceived sarcasm; the closer the number to 4, the lower the level of perceived sarcasm. The men and women means on this variable were 1.82 and 2.08 respectively. That men have greater fears of intimacy (Thelen et al. 2000) and are less disclosing in their intimate relationships (Gallmeier et al. 1997) reflects that men (when compared to women) may be less comfortable in social contexts/interaction. As a means of masking such anxiety, men may be more sarcastic.

c. Men saw themselves as sexual. Men rated themselves as being significantly (p< .05) more sexual than women reported themselves as being. The closer the number to 1 the higher the level of perceiving themselves as sexual; the closer the number to 4, the lower the level of perceiving themselves as sexual. The men and women means on this variable were 1.63 and 1.88 respectively. There is no shortage of research supporting the contention that men are more sexual than women. Whether the variable is sexual fantasies (Jones and Barlow, 1990), sexual values-hedonism (Knox et al., 2001) or sexual behavior -masturbation/intercourse (Michael et al., 1994), men consistently report higher rates than women. The stereotype of men being more sexual than women is part of our culture; our respondents' perceptions reflect this stereotype.