Gender differences in facial expressions of emotions

The aim of the present study was to investigate gender differences in the facial expression of emotion using electromyographic (EMG) recordings taken while participants viewed emotional stimuli. Facial EMG activity was recorded on the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscles, located below and above the eyes respectively. Self-report assessment was used as an index of experiential emotions. The study included two trials: in the first trial, participants were asked to view pleasant and unpleasant photographs as positive and negative emotional stimuli; in the second trial, participants were shown film clips conveying anger, happiness, and fear as specific emotional stimuli. In the first trial women showed more intense facial expression than men, as evinced by significantly higher zygomaticus activity (p .01) that occurred when viewing pleasant photographs, and higher activity on the corrugator (p .01) while viewing unpleasant photographs. Women also reported stronger emotional experiences than men, but only when reflecting upon unpleasant photographs (p .01). In the second trial, women were found to be more facially expressive than men, as indicated by increased activity on the zygomaticus major (p .01) while watching films conveying happiness, and increased activity on the corrugator (p .05) while watching films conveying fear—however, the genders did not differ in the intensity of facial expression for films conveying anger. Compared with iv men, women reported experiencing more intense feelings of fear (p .05), but did not differ in reports of anger and happiness. The results of these findings provided initial support for evolutionary predictions of gender differences in facial expression of emotions, but offer no evidence for differences in experiential emotions, except fear.