Gender differences in emotional experiences across childhood, romantic relationship, and self-defining memories

The aim of the present study is to examine the gender differences in emotional experiences across three different types of autobiographical memory. A total of 612 undergraduate students from Izmir, Turkey, were asked to recall a memory either from childhood, from romantic relationships, or from self...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of cognitive psychology (Hove, England) England), 2017-02, Vol.29 (2), p.137-150
Main Authors: Boyacioglu, Inci, Akfirat, Serap, Yılmaz, Adviye Esin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autobiographical memory
childhood memories
emotions
Gender differences
romantic relationship memories
self-defining memories
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Summary:The aim of the present study is to examine the gender differences in emotional experiences across three different types of autobiographical memory. A total of 612 undergraduate students from Izmir, Turkey, were asked to recall a memory either from childhood, from romantic relationships, or from self-defining experiences. A gender difference was found in the intensity of anxiety, sadness, and pride for romantic relationship memories. Men had higher scores on emotional distancing than women in self-defining memories. With regard to emotional valance, women's feelings were less positive than men's feelings when remembering childhood and romantic relationship experiences, whereas they were more positive than men's feelings when remembering self-defining experiences. The findings support the notion that gender differences in emotional experiences during the autobiographical recollection of personal life events vary across different memory types.
ISSN:2044-5911
2044-592X
DOI:10.1080/20445911.2016.1216996