Sex, Gender, and Emotion

Gender differences in emotion processing emerge in infancy and develop across childhood. Boys and girls vary in their emotional experiences and how they view the role of emotion. These gender differences are likely the result of an interplay between individual and social factors. This entry reviews gender differences in several aspects of emotion processing, including emotion recognition, expression, and understanding, as well as differences in emotion regulation strategies used by boys and girls. Several sources of these gender differences are discussed, including biological and temperamental factors and the influence of parent socialization. Although recent research suggests that variability in brain structure and function, sex hormones, and stress reactivity may contribute to gender differences in emotional reactivity and emotion regulation, these differences tend to be largest in social contexts, highlighting the interactive nature of biology and environment in creating gender differences in emotion processing.