Emotional processing & gender

One of the most successful self help books in recent years has been John Gray's 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' (Gray 1992). It taps into the popular belief that women comfortably live in a world of emotions and intuitively understand them, whereas men live in a different world of rational thought and problem solving.

Are girls more emotionally aware and talk about feelings and relationships whilst boys are, well, more boisterous? Do they process emotions differently? Several surveys have shown women cry more than men (5.3 times per month for women versus 1 for men) and do the job better (tears run down cheeks rather than just well up in their eyes).

Is there really a difference in processing style?

Click below to link to:

Emotional expression in men and women

Gender differences in emotional processing as evidenced by
scores on the Emotional Processing Scale (EPS)

References

Dorset RDSU
Cornelia House Poole Hospital NHS Trust Longfleet Road Poole Dorset BH15 2JB
Email dawn.stevens@poole.nhs.uk