On sex roles and representations of emotional experience: Masculinity, femininity, and emotional awareness

The hypothesis was that individuals higher in femininity and lower in mascu linity would evidence more complex representations of the emotions they and others might experience in a range of evocative situations. Participants i nitially completed the short form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI-SF; S . Bem L. 1981). Approximately 2 months later, they completed an abridged Le vels of Emotional Awareness Scale (LEAS; R. D. Lane, D. M. Quinlan, G, E. S chwartz, R A. Walker & S. B. Zeitlin, 1990), which consists of describing, in an open -ended format, the emotional reactions another and oneself may e xperience in various scenes. Responses to the LEAS are scored for degree of complexity. As expected higher masculinity was associated with lower compl exity in representations of one's own and others' emotions. However, no rel ation was found between femininity and complexity of representation.