ABSTRACT
Emotions are affective reactions to stimuli that threaten to interrupt, impede, or enhance an individual's goals (Frijda, 1993). Expressions of emotion are shaped by biologically based action tendencies as well as cultural display rules that dictate how an emotion should be communicated within a specific context (Planalp, 1999). In line with this conceptualization of emotional expression, research on sex differences in emotional communication is often guided by bioevolutionary or social learning explanations. Often, biology and socialization are viewed as interactive forces that shape emotional experience and expression (Andersen & Guerrero, 1998b; Brody, 1985; Buck, 1983). For example, Ekman's (1971) neurocultural theory of emotion specifies that men and women are born with innate predispositions for expressing emotions in particular ways, but these natural tendencies are curbed by learned cultural display rules.
