Gender, Emotion, And The Family

Gender, Emotion, and the Family Gender, Emotion, and the Family Leslie Brody HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England For my family Copyright 1999 by Leslie R. Brody All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Second printing, 2001 First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 2001 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Brody, Leslie. Gender, emotion, and the family / Leslie Brody. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-674-34186-4 (alk. paper) ISBN 0-674-00551-1 (pbk.) 1. Emotions—Sex differences. 2. Family—Sex differences. 3. Sex differences (Psychology) 4. Stereotype (Psychology) 5. Interpersonal communication—Sex differences. I. Title RC455.4.E46B76 1999 152.4—dc21 98-32351 Acknowledgments Many friends, colleagues, and family members helped to inspire this book and to make it a reality, especially in the face of the multiple (and often overwhelming) demands faced by an employed mother. I am immensely grateful to all of them. When I started the book, I had twoyear-old twins, Rachel and Matthew, and a six-year-old, Jennie. They are now thriving at the respective ages of six and ten. I especially thank them and my husband, Lance, for sharing me with my work, and for their ability to make this book another member of the family. Special appreciation goes to Lance for taking the time to read drafts of my chapters and to provide me with thoughtful feedback, integrating my work into his own busy schedule. Over the past twenty years, the Psychology Department at Boston University has encouraged me to explore the research that matters the most to me. Many colleagues at Boston University have enriched my thinking about gender and emotion. I especially thank Anne Copeland for her many years of research collaboration and friendship. Fran Grossman and Abby Stewart (now at the University of Michigan) have both been sources of wisdom and support. Bob Harrison helpfully provided his expertise on research methodology and emotion on innumerable occasions. The late Bill Mackavey, former chair of the department, and Henry Marcucella, the current chair, were particularly supportive of my work. I am grateful to colleagues, both at Boston University and elsewhere, who read parts of the book and provided helpful feedback, including Lisa Feldman Barrett, Michael Baum, Murray Cohen, Alice Cronin-Golomb, Judith Hall, Jackie Liederman, Gretchen Lovas, Kim Saudino, and Abby Stewart. Elizabeth Aries’ review of the book in its entirety was thoughtful and insightful. I also thank the many graduate students who dedicated their time, energy, and creativity to research issues related to gender and emotion, including Carrie Beckstein, Susan Doron, Shari Friedkin, vi Acknowledgments Thierry Guedj, Markey Guyer, Xiaolu Hsi, Helen Hwang, Jody Leader, Tracey Madden, Michael Monuteaux, Dorothy Richardson, Lisa Sutton, and Deborah Wise. I am also appreciative of two research grants that I received from Boston University Graduate School, GRS-959-PSYC and GRS-661-PSYC. My sister Bunting Fellows in 1994–1995 provided the inspiration and support I needed to begin as well as to complete this project. Florence Ladd, the former director of the Mary Ingraham Bunting Institute, and Renny Harrigan, the assistant director, created a nurturing and stimulating environment in which I could think creatively and freely. Melanie Northrop Forman was an invaluable assistant in the final stages of this project, tracking down seemingly nonexistent citations and frequently fitting the demands of this project into the demands of her own busy life. Lynissa Stokes provided invaluable help with medical library research. Kiffany Pfister and Catherine Ahn were my Radcliffe Junior Partners in the initial stages of this project, helping me immeasurably with data codin