Sociological analysis of gender differences in acceptability of expressing negative emotions in the public sphere

Emocije izravno i neizravno djeluju na pojedince te vode njihove akcije, određuju njihove stavove i mišljenja; međutim, društvene strukture, kultura, društvene institucije te sam kontekst povratno utječu na emocije te vode do pobuđivanja određenih emocionalnih stanja u pojedincima. Uzete zajedno ove komponente vode do različite prihvatljivosti iskazivanja emocija. Iskazivanje emocija je proces kojim pojedinci svoja emocionalna iskustva, kroz verbalne i neverbalne akcije, pretvaraju u ponašanja. Koncepti na kojima ovo istraživanje počiva uključuju primarnu socijalizaciju, vrijednosnu orijentaciju te stavove o rodnim ulogama. Cilj ovog rada jest istražiti postoje li, i ako da koje su rodne razlike u prihvatljivosti iskazivanja negativnih emocija u javnoj sferi. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom ankete, tehnikom online anketiranja koristeći softver Lime Survey na način da su linkovi za ankete podijeljeni na društvenim mrežama (Facebook i Instagram) te direktno osobnim kontaktima istraživačice koji ne koriste navedene društvene mreže. Uzorak se sastojao od 668 Facebook i Instagram korisnika. Korištene su dvije inačice anketnog upitnika, koje su se sastojale od međusobno istih instrumenata, s time da je jedan instrument (vinjete) varirao s obzirom na spol glavnog aktera u priči. Rezultati analize ukazuju da se muškarci i žene razlikuju u prihvatljivosti iskazivanja emocija u javnoj sferi. Ženama je prihvatljivije iskazivanje i negativnih i pozitivnih emocija u javnoj sferi. Ženama je također prihvatljivije nego muškarcima, da tugu u javnosti iskazuju i žene i muškarci. Kada je riječ o iskazivanju straha u javnoj sferi ženama je prihvatljivije nego muškarcima da strah iskazuju i žena i muškarac, dok je muškarcima prihvatljivije da svoj strah iskazuju žene nego muškarci. U situacijama u kojima akteri iskazuju ljutnju ne postoji statistički značajna povezanost spola i prihvatljivosti iskazivanja ljutnje. Navedene razlike samo manjim dijelom mogu se objasniti vrijednosnom orijentacijom, stavovima o rodnim ulogama, dobi te djelomično načinom na koji su osobe odgajane tijekom primarne socijalizacije. No glavni prediktori prihvatljivosti iskazivanja emocija u javnoj sferi ostaju nepoznati.Emotions directly and indirectly affect individuals and guide their actions, determine their attitudes and opinions; however, social structures, culture, social institutions, and the context itself have a reciprocal effect on emotions and lead to the arousal of certain emotional states in individuals. Taken together, these components lead to different acceptability of expressing emotions. Expressing emotions is a process by which individuals turn their emotional experiences, through verbal and nonverbal actions, into behaviors. The concepts on which this research is based include primary socialization, value orientation, and attitudes about gender roles. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether, and if so, what are the gender differences in the acceptability of expressing negative emotions in the public sphere. The research was conducted using the survey method, the online survey technique using Lime Survey software in such a way that the links for the surveys were shared on social networks (Facebook and Instagram) and directly to the personal contacts of the researcher who do not use these social networks. The sample consisted of 668 Facebook and Instagram users. Two versions of the survey questionnaire were used, which consisted of the same instruments with each other, with one instrument (vignette) varying according to the gender of the main actor in the story. The results of the analysis indicate that men and women differ in the acceptability of expressing emotions in the public sphere. It is more acceptable to women, to express both negative and positive emotions in the public sphere. It is also more acceptable for women than for men, for both women and men express their grief in public. When it comes to expressing fear in the public sphere, it is more acceptable for women than for men for both women and men to express fear, while it is more acceptable for men, for women to express their fear than men. In situations where actors express anger, there is no statistically significant relationship between gender and the acceptability of expressing anger. These gender differences can only be partly explained by value orientation, attitudes about gender roles, age and partly by the way people were brought up during primary socialization. But the main predictors of the acceptability of expressing emotions in the public sphere remain unknown