He said, she said

Gender differences in the disclosure of positive and negative information

Bibliographic Data

ID9007971
AuthorsErin Carbone (0000-0002-1714-7661, Decision Sciences (United States), corresponding author), G Loewenstein (0000-0003-2790-0474, Carnegie Mellon University), Irene Scopelliti (0000-0001-6712-5332, City, University of London), Joachim Vosgerau (0000-0002-1185-8403, Bocconi University)
Year2023
Volume110
Pages104525-104525
Publication date2023-09-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Experimental Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1031 • E-ISSN: 1096-0465
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104525
OpenAlexW4386516378
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited56

Research on gender differences in (self-)disclosure has produced mixed results, and, where differences have emerged, they may be an artifact of the measures employed. The present paper explores whether gender – defined as self-identified membership in one's sociocultural group – can indeed account for differences in the desire and propensity to divulge information to others. We additionally identify a possible moderator for such differences. In three studies employing two distinct research approaches – a free recall task for the extreme desire to disclose (Study 1, N = 195) and scaled responses to scenarios that manipulate valence experimentally in an exploratory study (Study 2, N = 547) and a preregistered replication (Study 3, N = 405) – we provide evidence of a robust interaction between gender and information valence. Male participants appear similar to female participants in their desire and likelihood to disclose positive information but are less likely than women to want to share negative information with others, and less likely to ultimately act on that desire. Men are reportedly more motivated than women to disclose as a means of self-enhancement, and self-reports reveal that women perceive their sharing behavior to be relatively normative, while men believe themselves to be more withholding than what is optimal. Information disclosure is increasingly pervasive and permanent in the digital age, and is accompanied by an array of social and psychological consequences. Given their disparate disclosing behaviors, men and women may thus be differentially advantaged by, or susceptible to, the positive and negative consequences of information sharing

Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Exploratory research · Moderation · Negative information · Normative · Recall · Self-disclosure · Valence (chemistry · Digital Marketing and Social Media · Mental Health via Writing · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Psychology · Social Psychology

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