Gender and emotions

It is believed that gender can influence emotions and feelings.The common belief is that women are more in touch with their feelings than men are—they react more emotionally and are better able to read emotions in others. Is there any truth to these assumptions? The evidence does confirm differences between men and women when it comes to emotional reactions and the ability to read others. In contrasting the genders, women show greater emotional expression than men. They experience emotions more intensely; and they display more frequent expressions of both positive and negative emotions, except anger.In contrast to men, women also report more comfort in expressing emotions. Finally, women are better at reading nonverbal and paralinguistic cues than are men. Researchers have suggested three possible explanations. One explanation is the different ways men and women have been socialized. Men are taught to be tough and brave. Showing emotion is inconsistent with this image. Women, in contrast, are tought to be good at nurturing. This may account for the perception that women are generally warmer and friendlier than men. For instance, women are expected to express more positive emotions on the job than men, and they do.