A Study on Emotional Expression, Perceived Stress and Belief of Masculinity / Femininity Among Men

This study investigates the relationship between emotional expression, perceived stress, and beliefs of masculinity/femininity among men. A sample of 100 male participants within the age range 0f 18-44 years completed measures. Purposive sampling technique has been used. The exploratory research approach was adopted to determine the result of the variables The Results showed that the variables and age group that has been taken is not significant or is negatively correlated to each other. Except, the emotional expression is slightly significant with the personal attributes. These findings demonstrate the possible drawbacks of strict conformity to traditional masculine standards and emphasise the need of encouraging emotional expression and questioning traditional gender roles among males. In light of earlier studies on men's emotional expressiveness and gender role attitudes, implications of these findings are examined, and further study approaches are recommended.


INTRODUCTION
Emotional expression refers to how one conveys emotional experience through verbal and nonverbal behavior (Gross, 1998b(Gross, , 1999. Emotional expression should be distinguished from emotional experience in that it is possible to experience emotions without expressing them. Emotional expression is simply the acknowledgement of emotions we are built to feel.

Basic Emotion Theory
Basic emotion theory states that humans have a finite set of biologically and psychologically " fundamental " emotions (fear, anger, joy, sadness, etc.), assuming that each appears in the form of an organized repetition. Patterns of relevant behavioural factors. It is argued that basic emotions are conserved because biological and social functions are essential for evolution and adaptation. Further, it is proposed that basic emotions have innate neural substrates and universal behavioural phenotypes. In a special issue of the Emotion Review, several research psychologists outlined their current thinking on each of the primary theoretical models of emotion. Basic emotions are developed to accomplish everyday life tasks. Emotions such as fear and anger can aid survival by influencing living things to flee to safety or fight to defend themselves. Complex emotions and complex emotions can be formed. Although many psychologists accept the theory of basic emotions, there is no consensus on the exact number of basic emotions. There are eight main emotions. Anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust and joy on the colour wheel, seven basic emotions Fear, anger, joy, sadness, contempt, disgust, surprise. But he switched to his six basic emotions. Fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise. However, a recent study found that disgust and anger have similar nose wrinkles and eyebrow raises in fear and surprise Differences between anger and disgust, and fear and surprise, are thought to have evolved later for social function rather than survival per se Therefore, Jack et al. (2014) he proposed that humans have four basic emotions. Fear, anger, joy and sorrow. Several authors have suggested fear, anger, joy, and sadness as his four basic emotions. People used fear as a categorical label to describe fleeing to safety, anger as a frustration of blocked goals, and joy as a consequence of loss. And describe grief as describing the loss of a life-changing experience.

Perceived stress
Perceived stress is the feelings or thoughts an individual has about how much stress they are under at a given point in time or over a given time period. According to Cohen's original theory of perceived stress, the stressor is not the potentially omnipresent life event that occurs to the individual, but rather "the cognitively mediated emotional response to the target event" (Cohen et al., 1983).The theory of stress as a stimulus was introduced in the 1960s. It viewed stress as a significant life event or change requiring response, adaptation, or regulation. Holmes and Rahe (1967) developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). The SRRS consists of 42 life events, each rated according to the estimated degree of adjustment required by the affected person (marriage, divorce, relocation, change, loss, etc.). loss of work, loved ones). Holmes and Rahe theorized that stress was the independent variable in the health-stress coping equation and that it was the cause of the experience rather than the experience itself. (Rahe, Mahan & Arthur, 1970;Johnson & Sarason, 1979), the theory of stress as a stimulus has been problematic. Stressas-stimulus theory assumes that change is inherently stressful. Life events require the same level of adaptation across the population. There is a common adaptive threshold above which disease occurs. Rahe and Holmes initially viewed humans as passive recipients of stress and were not involved in determining the degree, intensity, or severity of stressors. Rahe later introduced interpretation into his work (Rahe & Arthur, 1978). He suggested that changes and life events can be interpreted as positive or negative experiences based on cognitive and emotional factors. Did. However, the stress-as-stimulus model still ignores significant variables such as previous learning, environment, the support network of the individual, personality, and life experience.

Masculinity/ Femininity
The terms masculinity and femininity refer to qualities or characteristics typically associated with men and women respectively. Masculinity and femininity are opposite ends of one dimension. Masculinity is one extreme and femininity is the other. According to this definition, high masculinity means lack of femininity and vice versa. In other words, people can be categorized as male or female. Modern definitions suggest that masculinity and femininity are separate dimensions and that individuals may possess both masculine and feminine attributes at the same time.

RATIONALE
The objective of research on emotional expressiveness, perceived stress, and masculinity/femininity beliefs is to investigate how these characteristics interact and effect individuals' mental health and wellbeing. Although there is a literature gap between emotional expression, perceived stress, and beliefs of masculinity and femininity, research on variables impacting emotional expression, perceived stress, and beliefs of masculinity and femininity individually has been conducted. This study aims to investigate this gap and provide a fresh viewpoint on it. The primary goal of investigating emotional expression, perceived stress, and masculinity beliefs is an important field of research because it may help us understand how men experience and express their emotions. Men have historically been socialised to hide their emotions and conform to traditional gender norms that emphasise toughness, independence, and stoicism. This might result in negative consequences such as increased stress, worry, and depression, as well as difficulty creating and maintaining healthy relationships. It is possible to obtain insight into how men's emotional experiences and expression are shaped by evaluating their views about masculinity and femininity. This can help us better understand the complicated interplay between gender, emotions, and mental health, which might lead to more effective therapies for males who are dealing with these challenges.

METHODS OF STUDY
The present chapter deals with the method used in the study. The chapter is divided into the following sub-headings

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand the psychological and social factors that influence men's emotional experiences and expressions, examine the relationship between perceived stress and emotional well-being, and examine the effect of gender beliefs on men's emotional experiences and expressions.

Objective
The objective of a study on emotional expressiveness, perceived stress, and ideas about masculinity and femininity would be to investigate the links between these elements and their influence on mental health outcomes. The study would specifically seek to: 1. Investigate the relation between emotional expressiveness and perceived stress levels in people with varied views on masculinity and femininity. 2. Investigate the impact of cultural norms and expectations on people's perceptions of masculinity and femininity, as well as their emotional expressiveness and stress levels. 3. Identify possible gender differences in emotional expressiveness and stress levels and investigate the influence of these differences on mental health outcomes. 4. Provide insights into potential areas for intervention and help for persons who may be dealing with mental health difficulties connected to gender norms and expectations

Hypothesis:
H1emotional expression co related with belief of masculinity / femininity can be high. H2 -Perceived stress can be negatively correlated to belief of masculinity / femininity. H3-Emotional expressivity will be positively correlated to perceived stress. H4 -Emotional expression can be correlate to personal attributes.

Sample
The word sample means a small group of people which is taken from large population. The participants were recruited through purposive sampling, and the sample size was 100 adult men within the age range 18-44years from all over India. Purposive sampling was chosen since the researcher opted to focus on a certain population, namely men.

Independent variable -Belief of Masculinity/Femininity among Men Dependent variable -Emotional Expression and Perceived Stress
Emotional expression refers to how a person conveys an emotional experience through verbal and nonverbal communication.
Perceived stress is the feelings or thoughts a person has about the extent to which they are experiencing stress at a particular time or period of time.
Men's belief about masculinity and femininity relates attitudes, values, and behaviours related to cultural norms of what it means to be male or female.

Research design
The exploratory study methodology was used to explore the association between three variables, namely emotional expression, perceived stress, and masculinity and femininity beliefs, among males from throughout India. Given the scarcity of current research on the precise variables that affect men, the researchers used an exploratory study method to examine the link between the variables and provide new insights into the factors that impact men.

Statistical Analysis:
The statistical analysis for the study was conducted using SPSS software to examine the relationship between Emotional expression , perceived stress and belief of masculinity femininity among men in terms of the Emotional Expressivity Scale , Perceived Stress Questionnaire, and Personal Attributes Questionnaire .
The following analysis was performed to investigate the purpose of the study: 1. Pearson's Correlation and T-Test was used to examine the relationship between variables and the targeted groups that summarized the characteristics of the dataset.

Procedure
• A sample of 18 -44years of age of men were assessed for emotional expression, perceived stress and personal attributes questionnaires. • Participants were recruited through social media platforms or any other means that permit broader outreach to the targeted population. • After obtaining informed consent, participants were requested to complete the questionnaires online.
• Demographic information, such as age, gender and education qualification, were collected from the participants. • Participants were also requested to provide information about the number of followers, and the type of content they post in their profile. • The scores of the participants of the emotional expression, perceived stress and belief of masculinity /femininity ang age groups were calculated and analysed. • Data analysis was investigated using statistical software, such as SPSS to examine the relationship between the between the variables by using psychological questionnaire..

Tools
The tools utilized in the quantitative study are mentioned below:

Emotional Expressivity Scale
The scale was invented and constructed by Dr. Ann Kring and her colleagues also developed a 17-item version of the Emotional Expressivity Scale (EES-17) in 2013. The EES-17 is a shorter version of the original EES that assesses emotional expressivity across three domains: vocal, facial, and body. The EES-17 items are assessed on a 7-point Likert scale, with responses ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The internal consistency of the EES has been shown to be high, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.80 to 0.93 across studies. The EES test-retest reliability has also been demonstrated to be strong across several weeks, with correlations ranging from 0.68 to 0.90. The EES has high construct validity because it is connected to but separate from other conceptions such as emotional regulation, social anxiety, and emotion recognition.

Perceived Stress Questionnaire
The Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) is a self-report measure established by Levenstein et al. in 1993 to assess the degree to which people feel their lives are stressful. The PSQ is a frequently used tool in psychological research and clinical settings, and it has been translated into other languages. The PSQ consists of 30 items that allow people to rate the frequency of certain thoughts and feelings in the previous month on a 4-point Likert scale, with answers ranging from 1 (nearly never) to 4 (frequently). It has strong internal consistency and test-retest reliability, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.77 to 0.91 and correlations ranging from 0.62 to 0.80. PSQ has also been found to have strong construct validity, aligning with other measures of psychosocial well-being.

Personal Attributes Questionnaire
The Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ) is a psychological test developed in the 1970s by Michael Spence and Robert Helmerich to examine individual differences in personality traits. The PAQ consists of 24 items that ask respondents to rate themselves on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) on a Likert scale. The PAQ's reliability has been found to be good to outstanding in various investigations, with test-retest coefficients ranging from.66 to.89 and internal consistency coefficients ranging from.70 to.90 for the six scales. The PAQ has also shown strong inter-rater reliability, with coefficients ranging from 85 to 93. between Personal Attributes and Perceived Stress in the 18-25 yrs age group (r = -0.169). There is also a significant negative correlation between Emotional Expressivity and Personal Attributes in the 18-25 yrs age group (r = -0.176). In the 26-44yrs age group, there is a significant negative correlation between Emotional Expressivity and Personal Attributes (r = -0.337*), and no other significant correlations are found. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

RESULT AND INTERPRETATION
These are the correlation coefficients between the three variables: Emotional Expressivity, Perceived Stress, and Personal Attribute.The emotional expression and perceived stress, the correlation coefficient is -0.030, indicating a weak negative relationship. However, this relationship is not statistically significant (p=0.767), For emotional expression and personal attributes, the correlation coefficient is -0.238, indicating a moderately negative relationship. This relationship is statistically significant at the 0.05 level (p = 0.017). For perceived stress and individual attributes, the correlation coefficient is -0.103, indicating a weak negative relationship. However, this relationship is not statistically significant (p=0.309), meaning it can happen.

Correlations
Emotional Expressivity

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The study attempted to determine the experience of emotional expression, perceived stress and belief of masculinity / femininity . It contributes to a better understanding of the complex interplay between gender beliefs, emotional expressivity , and stress among men, which has important implications for promoting men's mental health and well-being. The objective is to investigate the link between the variables and impact their mental health outcome. Purposive sampling was chosen since the researcher opted to aim on a specific population, i.e. is men. There are gaps in the literature between emotional expression, perceived stress, and beliefs about masculinity and femininity, the variables that independently influence emotional expression, perceived stress, and beliefs about masculinity and femininity have been studied. research is being done. This study aims to explore this gap and provide a new perspective. According to basic emotion theory, people have a finite range of biologically and psychologically "basic" emotions (fear, anger, joy, sadness, and so on), each of which emerges as an organised repetition. In accordance with Cohen's pioneering theory of perceived stress, the stressor isn't the potentially everpresent life event that affects the person but rather "the cognitively mediated emotional response to the target event" (Cohen et al., 1983). The theory of stress as a stimulus was presented in the 1960s, and it viewed stress as a significant life event or change that required a response, adaptation, or control. Qualities or traits that are commonly associated with men and women, respectively, are referred to as masculinity and femininity. In the past, masculinity and femininity were seen as the two extremes of a single dimension. Masculinity is one extreme, and femininity is the other. This definition holds that great masculinity implies a lack of femininity, and vice versa. Men's Health, Emotional Expression, and Masculinity: A Correlational Study The goal of this study was to see if American millennial men who aspire to masculine ideals have less ability to express themselves emotionally and have poorer mental health and well-being. This study examined how social connectedness, perceptions of the campus environment, and perceived stress among college students influenced both men and women. Perceived Stress, Trait Anger, Anger Expression Modes, and Health Status of College Men and Women discusses the correlations between these variables.
Based on the information provided, the following observations and inferences can be made: Expression of emotion: The sample as a whole displayed moderate emotional expressivity, as evidenced by the mean score of 51.09 and standard deviation of 11.708 for this category. Emotional expressivity and perceived stress did not significantly correlate, although there was a negative correlation between emotional expressivity and personal traits. A mean score of 0.5114 and a standard deviation of 0.17451 indicated that the sample's perceptions of stress were relatively low. There was no discernible relationship between perceived stress and emotional expressivity or other personality traits. The mean score for personal traits was 56.10, with a standard deviation of 11.182, indicating that the sample's personal attributes were usually positive. There was a substantial negative association between personal attributes and emotional expressivity. The study divided participants into two age groups: 18-25 years and 26-44 years. The mean scores for emotional expressivity and personal characteristics were higher for the 26-44 age group compared to the 18-25 age group, but the difference was not statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in stress levels between the two age groups. T-tests for independent samples: The results of the independent sample t-tests revealed that there were no significant variations in emotional expressivity, perceived stress, or personal characteristics between the two age groups. Overall, the study reveals some light on how emotional expressivity, perceived stress, personal attribute and age variations relate to one another. There are certain restrictions to take into consideration though. Only 100 people were participated in the study, which may restrict how broadly the results may be generalised. The study only covered two age groups, which means it could not be sufficient representation of the whole population. Studies in the future could expand on this work by evaluating additional variables that might affect emotional expressivity, perceived stress, and personal attributes, as well as collecting larger and more varied groups. Therefore, it can be concluded that the hypothesis that was initially assumed has been rejected due to the lack of significant differences found between the variables.

SUGGESTION AND LIMITATIONS
Several relationships are revealed in the study, such as the relationship between emotional expressivity, perceived stress, personal attributes, and age variations. There are certain limitations to consider. Only 100 people participated in the study, which may restrict how broadly the results may be generalised. The study only covered two age groups, which means it could not represent the whole population. Studies in the future could expand on this work by evaluating additional variables that might affect emotional expressivity, perceived stress, and personal attributes. In addition, they could collect larger and more varied groups.