1. Purpose and Hypothesis
Abstract
We examined perceptions of gender for two responses to trauma: Posttraumatic Growth and Illusory Growth. Participants were read vignettes that detailed these growth types using a fictional story. We asked participants to imagine the fictional individual as the same gender as them/ However, 53% of participants failed to follow these directions. We wanted to know why participants felt inclined to assign genders to each of the growth types despite the directions. We found that participants perceived the PTG vignette as a female and the Illusory vignette as male. This may reflect a stereotype that perceives more intense emotional expression as a female-typical response to trauma.
Do Participants Perceive Gender Differences in Responses to Trauma?
Alex Orille, Megan Hubarth, Dr. Kanako Taku
Abstract: Check if there are any abstract requirements. Usually we put an abstract on the posters, even if small. However, if you do not need one an don’t want one should be fine.
Introduction: For the significance, I wouldn’t say no research because someone might have we just don’t know!, but few research have (a common phrase in manuscripts)
Discussion
Purpose and Hypothesis
Purpose: To examine whether participants from a Midwestern U.S University will perceive gender differences in responses to trauma?
Hypothesis: Gender perceptions for different growth types depends on perceived emotional expressivity as driven by the stereotype that females are more emotional than men.
Conclusions:
Participants likely perceived differences in emotional expressivity, openness to experience, and overall PTG process
Participants intuit the gender differences from such differences and make assumptions that are consistent with empirical evidence (females experience higher levels of PTG)
Males may be more likely to commit to the stereotype that females are more emotional than females
Females, more than males, found X, from the PTG vignette to be marginally more authentic which might suggest a better understanding of the importance expressivity and openness when coping with trauma.
Limitations:
Fewer males than females were analyzed
Whether participants answered incorrectly to the directions to imagine X as their own gender was not controlled for, therefore there is a large source of error to explain why they did not follow directions
Emotional expressivity and openness to experience are essential to PTG, however there were no components of the vignettes that were added to objectively represent these constructs
This research was conducted with undergraduate students, and therefore we may see different understandings of trauma and experience using participants of older age
Future Directions:
More male participants to see if the pattern holds
Replicate study without asking participant to imagine X as the same gender as themselves to control for source of disobeying directions
Operationally define and describe emotionally expressivity and openness to experience in new vignettes
Introduction
Posttraumatic Growth (PTG): The positive changes resulting from a struggle with a traumatic event, requires key cognitive processes such emotionally expressivity and openness to experience (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004)
Illusory Growth: Self-reported growth in the absence of key cognitive processes described in the PTG model
Gender Differences: Women are more likely to experience higher levels of PTG (Vishnevsky, Cann, Calhoun, Tedeschi, & Demakis, 2010), tend to be more reflective toward negative affect (Treynor, Gonzalez, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003), and tend to be more emotionally expressive to negative events (Deng, Chang, Yang, Huo, & Zhou, 2016)
Gender Stereotype: Regardless of empirical evidence for emotional openness, there exists a
stereotypical convention in Western culture than women are more emotional compared to men
(Gard & Kring, 2007)
Results
Participants were not equally distributed between the four groups, 2 (3, N = 155) = 87.97, p < .001
The majority of participants (n = 83, 54.2%) belonged to Group 4.
A Chi-square test of independence was performed to examine the relationship between the participants’ gender and whether the hypothesized gender pattern was perceived
Of the 16 males analyzed, 81.3% (n = 13) experienced the hypothesized gender pattern, whereas only 50.3% (n = 70) of the 139 females analyzed did,
2 (1, N = 155) = 5.50, p = .019
A mixed ANOVA revealed that, overall, females perceive X from the PTG vignette (M = 5.65, SD = 1.18) and the Illusory vignette (M = 3.60, SD = 1.74) to be slightly more authentic than males did (M = 5.13, SD = 1.71; M = 3.19, SD = 1.64, respectively), F (1, 153) = 3.27, p = .072†
χ2 Test for Goodness of Fit
Method
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria:
Included participants that incorrectly matched the gender of X to themselves
Excluded participants that did not report gender or reported gender other than male or female
Achieved reliability
Procedure and Measures:
Participants read two growth-oriented vignettes (PTG and Illusory), depicting a fictional character, X, who experiences an accident
Participants were asked to imagine X as the same gender as themselves
We analyzed only participants who incorrectly matched the gender of X to themselves
Groups based on the pattern in which gender of X was perceived after each vignette:
Group 1: PTG = Male & Illusory = Male
Group 2: PTG = Female & Illusory = Female
Group 3: PTG = Male & Illusory = Female
Group 4: PTG = Female & Illusory = Male
Authenticity was assessed with one item on a 7-point Likert Scale, following both vignettes
Frequency
Test Statistic
Group 1 41
χ2 = 87.96***
Group 2 2
Group 3 29
Group 4 83
χ2 Test for Independence
Group 4
Other
Test Statistic
Male 13 3
χ2 = 5.05*
Female 70 69
References
Deng, Y., Chang, L., Yang, M., Huo, M., & Zhou, R. (2016). Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity. PloS One, 11(6), e
Gard, M. G., & Kring, A. M. (2007). Sex differences in the time course of emotion. Emotion, 7(2),
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Target Article: "Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence". Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18.
Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination Reconsidered: A Psychometric Analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27(3), 247–259.
Vishnevsky, T., Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2007). Gender Differences in Posttraumatic Growth: A Meta-Analysis. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi: /e
* p < .05 ** p < .01 *** p < .001