Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
DOI 10.1007/s11199-009-9722-5
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Crime Scene Investigation: The Chief Inspectors’
Display Rules
Juliane Finger & Dagmar C. Unz & Frank Schwab
Published online: 29 December 2009
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009
Abstract Television as one factor in the “cycle of role
division” (Eagly 1987; Shields 2002) can aid to perpetuate
traditional role attitudes as well as set new norms. The aim
of the study is to examine gender differences in facial
expression of emotion on TV as well as changes of these
differences over time. A content analysis of 12 episodes of
a prominent German crime series from two time samples
(1979–1981 / 2005) was done by employing the Emotional
Facial Action Coding System (EmFACS, Friesen and
Ekman 1983). Results show that there are gender differences in stereotypically male emotions: Male actors express
these emotions significantly more frequently than female
actors, while the latter show more “social smiles”. These
differences are reduced over time.
Keywords Emotions . Gender . Television content
Introduction
“Television is the source of the most broadly shared images
and messages in history. It is the mainstream of the
common symbolic environment into which our children
are born and in which we all live our lives” (Gerbner et al.
1994, p. 17). Gerbner and colleagues attribute this
important position to television due to some of its specific
features: Television penetrates nearly all social and age
J. Finger
Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg,
Von-Melle-Park 6,
20146 Hamburg, Germany
D. C. Unz (*) : F. Schwab
Media Psychology, Saarland University,
PB 15 11 50,
D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany
e-mail: d.unz@mx.uni-saarland.de
groups, it is available nearly everywhere. The compliance
with requirements to use it is almost non-existent (no
intricate literacy, low cost, no mobility needed) and it is
mostly used unselectively. Furthermore, a lot of programs
that aim for a large audience are very similar in their main
features. These programs show a “general adherence to
common notions of justice and fair play, clear-cut characterizations, tested plot lines, and proven formulas for resolving
all issues” (Gerbner and Gross 1976, p. 182). Simultaneously their content communicates a certain closeness to
reality. Cultivation theory assumes that these characteristics lead to “massive, long-term, and common exposure
of large and heterogeneous publics to centrally produced,
mass distributed, and repetitive systems of stories”
(Gerbner et al. 1994, p. 20), and as a consequence, these
invariant cultural patterns in television content cultivate
real-world beliefs.
The purpose of this study is to examine the portrayal of
men and women on German TV, specifically, gender
differences in the facial expression of emotion of male
and female actors. On the basis of arguments of the social
role theory (Eagly 1987), which posits that gender differences are largely due to different social roles occupied by
men and women, it is examined whether gender differences
in emotion expression which are staged in TV series persist
even if men and women act in the same work role.
Furthermore, it is examined whether the differences in the
portrayal of the genders on German TV have diminished
over the last 30 years, taking into account the societal
change towards a more egalitarian division of labour
between the genders in Germany (e.g., United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe [UNECE] Statistical
Database 2009). To address these questions, a content
analysis of a German media sample from two periods
(1979–81 and 2005), employing the EmFACS (Friesen and
Ekman 1983), was designed. The EmFACS measures
emotion expression as shown via facial behavior.
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
Media images and portrayals have a mentionable effect
on the thoughts and attitudes of the spectators (Gerbner et
al. 1994). A meta-analysis of Shanahan and Morgan (1999)
on 97 samples with 5,799 separate findings overall reports a
small but consistent positive relationship of .10 between
television viewing and beliefs about the world. This effect
is not moderated by the content of the dependent variable,
that is, it does not matter if the study is about gender roles,
violence, policy or other themes; even demographic
variables like age, education, sex of the participants do
not show any significant effect. Although the assumptions
of cultivation theory (e.g., Gerbner et al. 1994; Shanahan
and Morgan 1999) minimize genre differences (e.g.,
Gerbner et al. 1978), there are findings that different genres
may influence perceptions differently (e.g., Grabe and
Drew 2007; Potter and Chang 1990). As an example, a
study by Segrin and Nabi (2002) found evidence for the
influence of viewing romantic programs, not TV viewing in
general, on unrealistically idealistic expectations about
marriage. Plus, according to the drench hypothesis of
Greenberg (1988) noteworthy or striking media examples
can be more influential than the sheer frequency of TV
characters or behaviours that are viewed. This means that
exposure to specific genres or programs may have a
stronger influence on people’s attitudes and beliefs than
overall TV viewing (cf. Covert and Dixon 2008; Harrison
2003).
Thus, we argue that favorite television programs can
reinforce gender stereotypes. According to theories and
research in social cognition, stereotypes are defined as the
beliefs about the attributes and characteristics of a group of
people (e.g., Hilton and von Hippel 1996). Stereotypes
represent categorical knowledge associated with social
groups and may include important assumptions about how
group attributes are related to one another; and therefore
reflect the perceiver’s inferences and causal attributions
based on the social categorization (Wittenbrink et al. 1998).
Accordingly, gender stereotypes are the beliefs about the
attributes and characteristics of men and women established
by their gender. On the basis of different gender roles,
gender stereotypes include differences between men and
women in the expression of emotions (e.g., Alexander and
Wood 2000). Gender stereotypes are quite stable across
different cultures, “with cultural factors producing minor
variations around general themes” (Best and Williams
2001, p.198). When choosing favorite television characters,
preschoolers, adolescents and adults show same-sex preferences (Chory-Assad and Cicchirillo 2005; Hoffner and
Buchanan 2005; Hoffner 1996; Wilson and Drogos 2007).
According to social cognitive learning theory, individuals
can learn from observing others, including characters in the
media (Bandura 1986). Models that are attractive or that are
similar to the viewer herself/himself are likely to be
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imitated. Therefore, media characters that are attractive
and alike to the self should be potent role models (cf.
Wilson and Drogos 2007).
This means that television can be one factor that interacts
in the “cycle of role division” (Eagly 1987; Shields 2002).
Images shown on TV can aid to perpetuate traditional,
conservative (gender) role attitudes as well as set new
norms for appropriate behavior (e.g., Calvert and Huston
1987; Rivadeneyra and Lebo 2008), particularly, favorite
programs may have a strong impact (Calvert et al. 2003).
Regarding the significant role of TV in socialization, which
means, that television has cultivation effects (e.g., Nabi and
Riddle 2008; Shanahan and Morgan 1999), gender-related
images and content of TV programs have to be explored. If
we are interested in the socialization of gender and in the
development of gender-related stereotypes, it has to be
asked if and how the staging of the genders in popular
television programs is changing over time.
Gender Biased Media Content
Few studies have dealt so far with the portrayal of men and
women on German TV. Research has been concentrated on
the picture on American TV. It has been shown that the
portrayal of men and women in the media does parallel the
above mentioned stereotypes when it comes to the roles
occupied as well as behaviors (for prime time television in
North America e.g., Ganahl et al. 2003; Gerbner 1997,
1998; Glascock 2001; for computer games, e.g., Dietz
1998, North America; Smith 2007, review mainly North
America; von Salisch et al. 2007, Germany). It has to be
noted that, when comparing media content from the 70ies
to our present days, the differences in the way women and
men have been portrayed are reduced. For example, women
in a North American media sample from the late 90ies are
also shown working outside the house, in more prestigious
work roles than in the 70ies (Signorielli and Bacue 1999).
However, even though differences in quality and quantity
of women’s and men’s roles and representation on TV have
been diminished over the past 20 years, differences and
inequalities persist until now (Bartsch et al. 2000; Coltrane
and Messineo 2000; Thompson and Zerbinos 1995). All of
these research papers dealt with changes of media content
in North America. As mentioned above, very few researchers have examined the picture on TV in other parts of the
world, such as Western Europe (Europaeische Kommission/
Referat Chancengleichheit fuer Frauen und Maenner 1999).
Cross-cultural research indicates that despite the crosscultural similarity of gender stereotypes (Best and Williams
2001) there is some influence of culture models on gender
differences in the expression of emotion, e.g. on the
experience and expression of anger (Fischer and Manstead
2000; Fischer et al. 2004) or in smiling (LaFrance et al.
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2003, meta-analysis). Similarly, a 14-country study conducted by Williams and Best (1990b) found intercultural
differences in beliefs concerning appropriate relationships
between the genders (modern/egalitarian vs. traditional/
male-dominant). The most modern beliefs were found in
European countries (including Germany, the Netherlands,
Italy, Great-Britain and Finland) while the United States
were only in the middle of the distribution. The most
traditional beliefs were found in Asian and African
countries. These differences can be attributed to differences
in women’s status and roles in the respective countries
(Fischer et al. 2004). Thus, it seems necessary to look at the
portrayal of gender and display roles in different countries.
By examining the picture on German TV, this study
intends to fill the existing gap when it comes to the
analysis of gendered television content (cf. Europaeische
Kommission/Referat Chancengleichheit fuer Frauen und
Maenner 1999).
Gender Differences in Emotions
With the start of the women’s movement in the seventies,
gender roles and role expectations have been the topic of
numerous studies and books, in popular press as well as in
scientific publications (e.g. Brody 1999; Mealey 2000;
Pease and Pease 2001). Since emotions are essential parts
of human life (e.g., Cosmides and Tooby 2000), especially,
differences in emotionality are a popular topic for discussion. The following section introduces the social role
theory (Eagly 1987) and its explanation for gender differences in emotion. After that, previous research on gender
differences in emotions is presented.
The social role theory (Eagly 1987) explains gender
differences as evolving from the ongoing division of roles
between men and women in society. To describe the roles,
Eagly (1987) uses the terms “agency” (men) and “communion” (women) first used by Bakan (1966). The traditional
female role of the caregiver requires interpersonal skills and
an ability to care well for others, which is reflected in the
term communion. Stereotypes ascribed to women on the
basis of their gender role describe them as being caring,
affectionate, gentle, cheerful, having a concern for others
and striving for harmony (cf. Bakan 1966; Brovermann et
al. 1972; Eagly 1987; Williams and Best 1982). The male
role of the provider, which Bakan (1966) describes with the
term agency requires skills that enable to be successful in a
supposedly competitive job environment; it is characterized
by attributes of competence, instrumentality and assertiveness. Further traits that are seen as stereotypically male
include men being dominant, unfriendly, aggressive and
task-oriented (cf. Brovermann et al. 1972; Eagly 1987;
Williams and Best 1982). These attributes are also reflected
in women’s and men’s self-descriptions (e.g., Feingold
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
1994) and their behavior (e.g., Hundhammer 2008). On the
basis of the different gender roles, there are differing rules,
scripts and norms that apply to men and women (Eagly
1987). The social roles also have an impact on the
expression of emotions. The exertion of different roles
does require different skills as well as the display of
different emotions (e.g., Alexander and Wood 2000;
Hochschild 2003). These norms for showing an emotion
are also called display rules (Ekman and Friesen 1975).
Display rules are the culturally shared norms and expectations of how, when and where to show emotions. Their
content is mostly analogous to stereotypical beliefs about
emotional expressivity (Brody 1999).
A lot of research has been generated concerning the
topic of gender roles and emotions (e.g., Aldrich and
Tenenbaum 2006, on gendered patterns in emotion talk;
Brody 1985, a literature review; Fischer 2000). The results
of previous studies show that for Western countries (like
Western Europe and North America) emotional expressivity
of men and women is in line with the role-based expectations or stereotypical beliefs. As expected in social role
theory, women show more emotions that are linked to
caretaking activities, that is positive emotions to establish
and maintain relationships with others, and that reflect their
lower social status. Men, on the other hand, show more
emotions that are linked to their agentic role, which enable
them to compete in an aggressive and achievement-oriented
job environment, e.g. in management positions (cf. Alexander
and Wood 2000; Eagly 1987). In the following, evidence
from Western countries is presented, and the countries in
which the respective studies were conducted are explicitly
mentioned. There is evidence that women report being
more emotionally expressive (Bronstein et al. 1996, North
America) than men do. Women smile significantly more
than men, especially in public settings (e.g., Hall 1984,
meta-analysis; Hall et al. 2000; LaFrance and Hecht 2000,
meta-analysis; Lee and Wagner 2002, UK). Women
express the emotions fear, sadness and shame more often
(e.g. Grossman and Wood 1993, North America). These
emotions are categorized as “powerless”, since they are
related to submission and low self-esteem. They also
express prosocial emotions like joy more often (Fischer
and Manstead 2000, Western cultures). Men’s emotion
expression reflects their role as the provider, adopting
agentic behaviour (Bakan 1966). For men, studies have
shown that they show assertive behavior more often than
women, and conceal emotions such as shame or sadness
(Brody 1999; Jansz 2000, Western cultures). They exceed
women in expressing emotions of anger, contempt and
pride (Averill 1983, North America; Fischer and Manstead
2000; Tomada and Schneider 1997, Italy), categorized as
powerful, that is having higher social status, and related to
aggression and high self-esteem.
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
Above that, there is some dissent regarding the expression of different smiling types in men and women. Emotion
research makes a difference between two types of smiling
(e.g., Hess et al. 2003; Thibault et al. 2009): The
“Duchenne smile” (Duchenne 1862/1990) involves the
movement of both the zygomaticus major muscle (raising
the lip corners) and the orbicularis oculi muscle near the
eyes producing crow’s feet-like crinkles(. A “social smile”
then again is produced without the orbicularis oculi
activation. The Duchenne smile is mostly interpreted
from a vis-a-vis as an expression of truly experienced joy
(Frank et al. 1993; in the FACS terminology of Ekman
and Friesen the Duchenne smile is called “felt happiness”)
and requires the recruitment of deliberately hardly controllable muscles in the upper face. The social smile (in the
FACS terminology “unfelt happiness”) is a consciously
controllable facial action that is shown primarily for
communicative reasons in social interaction, for example
as an indication of politeness or shyness or to display
positive affect in public situations (Ekman and Friesen
1975, 1982; Frank and Ekman 1997; Hess et al. 1995;
Hess et al. 2003). Hecht and LaFrance (1998) found
gender differences for social smiles, but not for Duchenne
smiles.
Societal Changes in Germany from the Late 70ies
Until Today (2005)
Eagly (1987) argues that gender roles and the corresponding
expectations can not be changed if the distribution of
work is still gender-segregated and women don’t have
access to traditional male domains. In Germany, several
societal changes have occurred from the late 70ies until
2005 (the year from which the media sample for period 2
was taken). The male role of the provider has been
eroding, as the unemployment rate, especially for less
educated men, has been on the rise (Bundesministerium
für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend 2005). Women’s
level of education has been continually rising, which has
helped them gain more job opportunities: 45.3% of the
workforce in 2005 are women, as compared to 39.7% in
1980 (UNECE Statistical Database 2009). The number of
women in decision making positions has risen, e.g., the
number of female university professors in Germany has
doubled from 6% in 1980 to 12.8% in 2004 (CEWS
Statistik 2009). However, the so called glass ceiling (e.g.,
Osterloh and Littmann-Wernli 2000) still exists: women
are still by far less represented in decision making
positions than men (21% women, 79% men in 2004) and
paid less than men: Women earned 22% less than men in
2002, as compared to 28% less than men in 1977
(Bundesministerium fuer Familie, Senioren, Frauen und
Jugend 2004; cf. Müller 2000).
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Research Questions and Hypotheses
The objective of the study is to identify whether (1) the
portrayal of emotions of male and female actors on German
TV differs even if they occupy the same professional role,
and whether (2) there has been a change in the portrayal of
male and female actors from the late 70ies until now. The
portrayal of emotions is operationalized by analyzing the
facial expression of emotions. Facial expression is the most
frequently mentioned form of emotion expression (Scherer
and Wallbott 1994). Further reasons for focusing on the
study of facial expressions of emotions include: First,
gender differences are largest when looking at the nonverbal behavior (Hall 1984). Second, since facial expression is,
in contrast to for example verbal statements, less prone to
intentional “fraud”, or falsification (Ekman and Friesen
1975), facial expressions of movie actors may be credible
expressions. Third, in movies facial expressions are
particularly suitable to convey emotions of the actors
(Wallbott 1988).
Work roles vs. gender roles: The social role theory
(Eagly 1987) states that everyday roles (e.g. at the
workplace) can overlay gender roles; hence diminish
stereotypical behavior of men or women. However,
evidence in that respect is mixed — recent studies have
found gender differences in some leadership behaviors even
though men and women were doing the same job or
occupying the same role (Eagly et al. 2003; Hess et al.
2005; Van Engen and Willemsen 2004). Regarding these
results and taking into account the saliency of a persons’
sex and gender role, it is predicted that professional roles do
not totally overlay gender roles. It is furthermore predicted
that on TV, gender differences in emotional expression can
be found even though women and men play the same role.
Hypotheses for both negative and positive emotions are
made on the basis of the gender-emotion-stereotypes
mentioned above. As outlined above, in most Western
countries, including Germany, the male stereotype is
closely associated with the emotions anger/aggression and
contempt. Women, in contrast, are believed to send more
positive social signals which include showing more joy by
means of smiling (cf. Alfermann 1996; Brovermann et al.
1972; Williams and Best 1982, 1990a).
Hypothesis 1a: Male actors are expected to show
significantly more negative, stereotypically male emotions (anger, contempt) than female actors.
Hypothesis 1b: Female actors, on the contrary, are
expected to send more positive social signals, that is, to
show more smiles than male actors.
Since emotion research identified two types of smiles
that have a different social significance, a separate analysis
for Duchenne smiles and social smiles is conducted. Social
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smiles are shown primarily for communicative reasons in
social interaction, thus are more socially constructed.
Duchenne smiles are mostly interpreted as an expression
of truly experienced joy. Therefore, it may be argued that
gender differences are greater for social smiles than for
Duchenne smiles (LaFrance 2003).
Hypothesis 1c: Female actors are expected to show
more social smiles (unfelt happiness in the FACS
terminology) than male actors.
Changing gender roles with time: According to Eagly
(1987) the cycle of role division can only change if women
gain more access to traditionally male domains, especially
at the workplace. She furthermore postulates a strong role
of the media in the perpetuation of traditional roles. Thus,
the (second) goal of this study is to examine possible
changes in the portrayal of men and women on TV over
time. As a matter of fact, since the late 70ies, in Western
societies such as Germany, an increasing number of women
have gained access to traditionally male domains, in real
life (cf. Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen
und Jugend 2004; Eagly 2003; UNECE Statistical Database
2009) as well as on TV’s fictional narratives (e.g.,
Signorielli and Bacue 1999; Süss 1993). Accordingly,
Diekman and Eagly (2000) found evidence for a change
in attitudes concerning stereotypical traits and behaviors,
comparing stereotypical images of men and women of the
past, present and future (cf. Diekman et al. 2004). But on
the other hand, a number of scientists see stereotypes as
relatively stable across time (Ashmore and Del Boca 1979;
Williams and Best 1990a). In this contribution it is expected
that “modern” TV takes into account a changing society.
Thus it is predicted that equality in the expression of
emotions by TV characters has been increasing over time
(from the 70ies until today).
Hypothesis 2: It is expected that gender differences are
diminished in period two (2005) as compared to period
one (1979–81), this refers to gender differences in the
display of negative, stereotypically male emotions
(Hypothesis 2a) as well as gender differences in the
display of the positive, stereotypically female emotion
joy, as shown via smiling (Hypothesis 2b) resp. social
smiling (Hypothesis 2c).
was made for several reasons: First, women and men occupy
the same role as a chief inspector. That made it possible to
examine sex differences in emotional expression without the
influence of other social roles. Second, the analysis of just one
genre was preferred, thereby diminishing the chance that
differences in emotion expression are partly or solely due to
particularities of a certain genre. Third, “Tatort”, as a very
popular TV series, reaches a large audience, the mean market
share is above 20%, and is distributed not only in Germany,
but in two other German speaking countries, Austria and
Switzerland. From the first broadcast of “Tatort” in 1970, over
700 episodes have been shown on TV. Thus, “Tatort” can be
taken as a critical TV program that may have a strong effect on
impression-formation and image-building according to the
drench hypothesis.
Since the goal was to examine gender as well as time
differences, “Tatort”-episodes from two periods of time were
selected. The starting point for the analysis was the year of the
first appearance of a female chief in “Tatort”, this was in the
year 1978. The next woman played the leading part as a chief
in 1981. The options for the choice were unfortunately limited
to two female chiefs in the late 70ies. An analysis of two
episodes with the same actress was accepted because it was
the only possibility to enlarge sample size. A random selection
was drawn from all the episodes with the two female chiefs in
the 3 years 1978, 1979, 1981. Accordingly, a random sample
was drawn from all “Tatort”-episodes with male chiefs for
each corresponding year — 1978, 1979 and 1981. For period
one, the overall number of episodes from which samples were
drawn was n=37 (for each year, number of episodes
broadcasted was for 1978 n=12, 1979 n=13, 1981 n=12).
The sample for period two was drawn from the year 2005.
At the time the study was carried out, this was the last
“complete” year of “Tatort”-broadcasts. For 2005, just like
for the “old” “Tatort”-series, a random selection was made of
three episodes with male, three with female chiefs. The total
number of episodes broadcasted from which the sample for
period two was drawn was n=34. (The slight difference in
sample size for the two periods can be attributed to changes
in the frequency of broadcasts of “Tatort” episodes per year,
that is, due to its popularity, an increased number of “Tatort”
episodes were produced over time.) On the whole, n=12
“Tatort”-episodes were examined, six from the late 70ies/early
80ies (n=3 male chiefs, n=3 female chiefs), the other six
from the year 2005 (n=3 male chiefs, n=3 female chiefs).
Method
Procedures
Sample
Analysis of the facial expressions of emotions was done by
the Emotion Facial Action Coding System (EmFACS,
Friesen and Ekman 1983). EmFACS is a special application
of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS, Ekman and
Friesen 1978): Only those facial movements are scored
For the investigation of gender roles as portrayed on
German TV, the oldest and most popular German crime
series (GfK, 2004), “Tatort”, was examined. That choice
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
which are relevant for emotion detection. The advantage of
this coding method is its objectivity, hence an avoidance of
biases in the analysis. The coding of so-called action units
as visible appearances of facial muscle activities and
interpretation of expressions (relying on an emotional
dictionary) are separated processes. The overall reliability
of EmFACS has been repeatedly demonstrated (Rosenberg
and Ekman 1998). All Coders involved in the study passed
the final examination administered by Ekman’s laboratory,
establishing their personal reliability (>.80). The mean
intercoder-reliability is above .80.
The coding was restricted to scenes in which facial
expressions were sufficiently visible, because only those
scenes can transport the emotions of the actors. This means:
Only shots, in which the face of the actor was sufficiently
visible, were coded, that is at least American shot, medium
close up or close up shot (see also Wallbott 1988). Scenes,
in which a shadow or poor light obscured more than 50% of
the face or in which accessories such as hat, sunglasses etc.
obscured important parts of the face, and scenes, in which
the actor turned the face away from the camera in a way
that less than 55% of the face could be seen, were excluded
from analysis. For each movie, the same amount of frames
should be coded. The smallest amount of codable material
in an episode was 6000 frames (= 4 min), so 6000 frames
were set as a limit for the coding amount of all other
episodes. For all episodes except one, the amount of 6000
frames was accomplished after two thirds of the episode
(app. 60 from 90 min of overall duration).
The analysis comprised four steps: First, all the episodes
were digitized and converted to the same format with the
same compression, making sure all were on the same level
of quality. Second, the episodes were viewed and coded
simultaneously. The coding units were the so-called apexes
of action units as visible appearances of facial muscle
activities, generating a time series of event points. In
EmFACS the coder uses FACS-codes, but describes only
those facial events that include action units or combinations
of action units which are relevant for certain emotion
expressions (e.g., Rosenberg 2005). The coded action units
respectively the coded combination of action units (AUs)
occurring at the same time were the units of observation (or
units of recording; collected as momentary events). Parallel
to this event-based EmFACS coding, the beginning and end
frame of each coded scene (coding onset and offset times)
were captured in a separate document, as well as the scene
type (e.g., “conversation among men”, “finding a dead
body”, etc.). In the third and last step, the coded data
(documented as action unit combinations along the time
line) were “translated” into emotions using the “Emotional
Dictionary” (Wagner 1986) as a computerized algorithm.
The Emotional Dictionary uses the originally coded
EmFACS data and searches for AUs or combinations of
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AUs which can be related to an emotion. Only those AUcombinations that are reliably identified as an emotional
expression in different cultures are assigned to an interpretation (Wagner 1986). Negative, stereotypically male
emotions were operationalized as those EmFACS events
that could reliably be identified by the Emotional Dictionary as either anger or contempt. Positive, stereotypically
female emotions were operationalized as those EmFACS
events that could be reliably identified by the Emotional
Dictionary as happiness (both felt und unfelt happiness).
Emotions other than anger, contempt and happiness
identifiable by the Emotional Dictionary are disgust,
surprise, fear and sadness. As these were not part of our
predictions they were not included in the statistical analysis.
Statistical Procedures
The unit of analysis were n=12 “Tatort”-episodes, six from
the late 70ies/early 80ies (n=3 male chiefs, n=3 female
chiefs), six from the year 2005 (n=3 male chiefs, n=3 female
chiefs). The Randomization Test was used as a statistical test
for small sample sizes. It is an exact test that has — in
contrast to commonly used tests for small samples such as the
Mann-Whitney-U-Test or the Kruskal-Wallis-H-Test — the
advantage not to be based on the rank-order method. Thus, it
is not vulnerable to information loss and more sensitive for
effects.
Results
In all the twelve “Tatort”-episode samples, 533 EmFACS
events (coded action units respectively the coded combination of actions units occurring at the same time) were
coded, with a mean of 44.42 events per episode, or 11.1
events/minute in sequences fitting the mentioned selection
criteria. On average, 27.42 of these 44.42 events per
episode were interpreted, 17 were not interpretable. Only
those events that were unambiguously interpreted by the
Emotional Dictionary (Wagner 1986) were included in the
statistical analysis. On average, of the 27.42 interpreted
events, 2.8 were interpreted ambiguously and thus excluded
from analysis. In the end, a mean of 24.58 events per
episode sample could be statistically analyzed, on the
whole 285 events over all episodes. Of these, 85 events
were interpreted as emotions other than anger/contempt and
happiness: disgust, surprise, fear and sadness. As mentioned above, these were not part of our predictions. Except
for surprise, these emotions were hardly ever shown (less
than 20 times per specific emotion in all episodes). The
remaining 210 events were statistically analyzed. See
Table 1 for detailed information about means and standard
deviations for the respective analyzed emotion.
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Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
Emotions
Mean
SD
Time
Gender
Anger
Contempt
General smiling
Felt happiness
Unfelt happiness
1.50
3.08
12.92
4.50
8.42
1.68
3.45
6.60
3.15
5.30
.04*
.01**
.86
.66
.54
.97
.51
.67
Means and standard deviations for the unambiguously interpreted
emotion expressions for which hypothesis were made, as well as the
results of the statistical testing for differences between time period and
gender, respectively.
* p<.05, **p<.01.
Negative Emotions
Regarding negative emotions, we predicted that men would
show anger and contempt more often than women, even
though they are acting in the same role (H1a) and that these
differences would be reduced over time (H2a). On the whole,
male actors showed the stereotypically male, negatively
connoted emotions of anger and contempt 17 times during
the data collection of period one (1979–1981) and 21 times
during period two (2005), whereas females showed these
emotions three times during period one and 14 times during
period two. In Hypothesis 1a, we predicted that men would
show significantly more negative emotions stereotypically
associated with the male role (anger and contempt), this was
tested with a Randomization test. As predicted, a main effect
of gender could be found (p=.01, one-sided). Above that, a
main effect of time could be found (p=.04, one-sided), with
both men and women showing more negative, stereotypically male emotions in the new episodes at period two. In
Hypothesis 2a, it was predicted that gender differences in the
display of negative, stereotypically male emotions were
diminished during period two (2005) compared to period one
(1979–81). Since the sample did not fulfill the requirements
to statistically test the interaction effects of period and gender
(H2a), the results can only be reported descriptively. Figure 1
shows the interaction of the factors period and gender. For
both men and women, negative, stereotypically male emotions have increased from period one to period two; the
increase for women has been sharper than for men. During
period two compared to period one, the discrepancy in the
frequency of these specific negative emotions has decreased
substantially.
Positive Emotions
For the positive emotion joy, we predicted that women
would show it more often than men, even though they act
the same role (for general smiling, Hypothesis 1b and for
social smiles, Hypothesis 1c) as well as a reduction of these
gender differences over time (Hypothesis 2b and c). General
Smiling was shown more often than every other emotion, on
the whole 155 times. For male actors, this meant a total of 56
displays of smiles (28 during period one; 28 during period
two). For female actors 99 displays of smiles were noted
(61 during period one; 38 during period two). The prediction
of H1b, women showing more positive social signals, that is
showing (general) smiles more often, was tested with a
Randomization test. H1b could not be confirmed: gender was
not significant as a factor (p=.97). Above that, there were no
significant differences in the display of (general) smiles
between the two periods (p=.86).
In detail, the Duchenne smile (felt happiness) was shown 24
times by male actors (15 during period one; 9 during period
two) and 30 times by female actors (13 during period one; 17
during period two). For Duchenne smiles, the results of a
Randomization test did not show any effects: Gender as a main
effect was not significant (p=.51). Neither was period as a
main effect (p=.66). Hypotheses 1c predicted gender differences in social smiles. Male actors showed social smiles
(unfelt happiness) 32 times (13 at period one; 19 at period
two), female actors 69 times (48 during period one; 21 during
period two). Again, the randomization test did not confirm
our hypothesis (H1c), gender as a main effect was not
significant (p=.67), neither period as a main effect (p=.54).
To further explore the data, the distributions were tested
for uniformity with a Chi Square test. For Duchenne smiles,
neither the distributions among, nor between gender were
significantly different. Note that not all actors showed this
emotion, and thus a few cases were not included in the
analysis. In the case of social smiles, there was a significant
main effect of period in the group of women (χ² (5, n=6)=
14.04; p=.02). Thus, female actors in the “old” episodes
(1978–81) showed significantly more social smiles than in
“modern” episodes (2005). This was not observed in the
group of male actors (χ² (5, n=6)=6.63; p=.25). Additionally, during period one, for social smiles, there was a highly
total number of stereotypically
male negative emotions
Table 1 Means and standard deviations for unambiguously interpreted emotions in all episodes.
25
20
15
10
5
0
1979-1981
period
male actors
2005
female actors
Fig. 1 The expression of stereotypically male negative emotions (anger
and contempt) by male and female actors at different time periods.
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
805
significant deviation from equipartition between male and
female actors (χ² (5, n=6)=21.92; p=.001). During period
two, no significant deviation from equipartition could be
found. These results can be seen as a hint to existing
differences in the emotional expression of male and female
actors when it comes to communicate social smiles. These
differences tend to diminish over time, due to women showing
less social smiles. Again, the interaction of the factors period
and gender (H2c: reduction of gender differences in positive,
stereotypically female social smiles in period two compared to
period one) can only be reported descriptively. Figure 2
illustrates the findings of the statistical testing: Female actors
exceeded men in displaying social smiles, a distinctness that
is reduced during period two.
Discussion
total number of social smiles
In sum, the results confirm the first hypothesis — gender
differences in specific emotions — in the case of negative,
stereotypically male emotions. The male chief inspectors in
the crime series “Tatort” express these emotions significantly more frequently than female chief inspectors. For
Duchenne smiles, no significant difference could be found,
whereas for social smiling, a difference between male and
female actors could be found. The results for hypothesis 2,
the reduction of gender differences over time, could solely
be reported descriptively. For the examined negative
emotions, as well as for the social smiling, the reported
gender differences seem to diminish over time.
In Western societies, the emotions anger and contempt
are more closely associated with men than with women
(e.g., Williams and Best 1982). The same picture seems to
apply for their portrayal in crime series on German TV.
Male “Tatort” chief inspectors were found to facially
express negative, stereotypically male emotions significantly more often than female chief inspectors. The differences
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1979-1981
2005
period
male actors
female actors
Fig. 2 The expression of social smiles by male and female actors at
different time periods.
tend to lessen over time. These results confirm observations
of previous studies conducted in other Western countries:
Gender roles seem to be stronger and more relevant for
social behavior than other social roles, e.g. roles at the
workplace (see Eagly et al. 2003; Hochschild 2003).
Eagly’s (1987) assumption — specific roles can overlay
the more general gender roles — does not seem to apply
here. Interestingly, there was an increase in the quantity of
expressions of stereotypically male negative emotions for
men and women over time. This might be due to a change
in movie plots and the extremity of (crime) scenes shown
on TV from the 70ies until today, or to a general change in
societies’ acceptance of these emotions, or to both of it. One
can imagine that more exciting scenes such as the sight of a
mutilated corpse can arouse more anger and contempt in
staged reaction shots of the chiefs. Alternatively, a shift in the
general acceptance of these negative emotions could have
occurred from the 70ies until now. It is imaginable that the
open display of these emotions is more accepted nowadays —
for both men and women — than it was 25 years ago.
Smiling was shown with the highest frequency of all
emotions by all actors, but even more so by the female
ones. Though the distribution of the data by trend confirms
hypothesis 1 and 2, neither the effect of period nor of
gender was statistically significant. A closer look at the
data, that is a partition of the general “smile” in the two
kinds “Duchenne smile” and “social smiling” gave more
insight. In contrast to smiling in general, the variability
among the groups of male and female actors is smaller
when looking at the two kinds of smiling. Gender differences were largest for social smiles, especially at period
one. On the basis of general knowledge about smiling and
the postulates of social role theory (Eagly 1987) this picture
can easily be understood. Different types of smiles have a
different social significance: Whereas a Duchenne smile is
mostly shown when truly feeling happy, social smiles are
used primarily for communicative reasons in social interaction (e.g. Hess et al. 2003) and furthermore social smiling
is one of the most common methods of masking other
emotions (Ekman and Friesen 1975). Thus the display of
social smiling by the female actors in crime series on
German TV can be seen as conform to their gender role.
The reduction in the amount of social smiles in episodes of
2005 can be interpreted with a change in role expectations.
A few methodological problems might have influenced
the results. First, the sample size was rather small, with 12
episodes analyzed. This was largely a result of the choice of
the TV series “Tatort”. Recall that this series was chosen
because men and women act the same role in the same
movie genre. Unfortunately, from the first broadcasting of
“Tatort” until the end of the 80ies just two women were
acting as chiefs. To be able to enlarge the sample size, two
episodes with the first chief were analyzed. It is possible
806
that this necessary choice produced distortions in the
results. But on the other hand, there are only 5% women
in leading positions in the German police nowadays (GdP
2002), and only one woman is reported that directed a
homicide division (Koelbl 2004), whereas in “Tatort” there
were five female chief inspectors in 15 different teams in
2005. Second, in addition to restrictions with regard to
sample size, the amount of data collected from the “Tatort”episodes was small. Maybe the plot of “Tatort”-episodes
provoked few strong emotions. A more likely reason,
however, seems to be the (necessary) scene selection: The
coding of facial expressions was often accomplished in
conversational scenes. In general, conversations were held
in a rather calm fashion by the chief inspectors. It seems as
if, in that case, the specific role as a chief could overlay the
more general gender role to some extent. Possibly, the role
as a chief required the inhibition of certain emotions, such
as strong anger, in order to appear trustworthy to a potential
witness or suspect or to show a “professional coolness”.
Additionally, the “Tatort”-series, produced by the German
public, non-commercial TV station ARD is intended to
show events close to everyday life, be authentic and not full
of pathos or flashy effects (Wacker 2000). For this reason, it
may be avoided to emote or dramatize. Third, further
restraints resulted from the algorithm used to interpret the
data, the Emotional Dictionary (Wagner 1986). Only about
half of the coded facial events could be interpreted (men:
46%; women: 56%). This is largely a result of the rather
conservative interpretation of the data by the Emotional
Dictionary that can also be found in the analysis of
everyday facial behavior (Merten 2001). Only AU combinations are interpreted that were empirically verified as
depicting a certain emotion. Further study would be needed
to enlarge the amount of unambiguously interpretable AU
combinations.
While taking these restraints into account, the drench
hypothesis on the other hand stresses that popular media
examples can be more influential than the sheer frequency
of TV characters or behaviours. Thus, the presented results
found in a very popular TV program may have important
impact on viewers’ perceptions even if the sample is limited
in representativeness. Nevertheless, in further studies the
results should be tested for generalization including more
(popular) series and genres or expanding the analysis to
verbal expressions of emotions. In addition coding not only
police chiefs’ facial expressions, but those of other
characters would allow for interaction testing. Furthermore,
the question arises whether the change in the display of
gender-stereotypical emotions in the media affects the
viewers’ perception and stereotypes. While Eagly (1987)
assumes an influence of the media for the perpetuation of
traditional gender role attitudes, the results we found point
to a more positive role of the media, at least in the case of
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
the studied German crime series: it does seem to take into
account societal changes — or even go ahead of these, by
showing more modern role images, or having not only one
female chief inspector (as in ‘real German life’), but five of
them. The effect of this rather progressive portrayal of the
sexes in “Tatort” on viewers’ perceptions or stereotypes
would also require further study.
Conclusions
In sum, the results show tendencies to depictions of gender
stereotypical portrayals in the popular German TV series
“Tatort”. Evidence for gender specific emotional behavior
of women and men acting in the same professional role
could be found. Furthermore, a tendency for these differences to diminish over time could be seen. Recall that
Eagly (1987) pointed out that the cycle of role distribution
could not be stopped until women would not have access to
other than the traditionally female jobs in healthcare etc.
She furthermore stressed the important role of the media for
the perpetuation of traditional gender role attitudes by
showing mainly traditional role images. Since the late
70ies, an increasing number of women has gained access to
previously male domains of work (e.g., UNECE Statistical
Database 2009). The picture observed in “Tatort” gives
reason to assume that a change in the display of genderstereotypical emotions in the media is parallel to the change
in society. Taking into account the role of the media in the
perpetuation or formation of beliefs (Gerbner et al. 1994),
the media, in this case TV, may also play a part in the
change of the cycle of role division by “modeling” new,
more modern roles for men and women in their broadcasts.
Buck (1988) assumes that these changes are in progress “If
we as a society decided that males are insufficiently
expressive, and females insufficiently aggressive, we could
choose to change the sorts of media models presented to
our children in ways consistent with these images. To some
extent, this has actually happened, in the increased
depiction of assertive women and empathic men. The
implications of these changes for the emotional lives of
the audience members, however, have not been fully
appreciated.” (Buck 1988, p. 56). It is likely that media
and society mutually influence this development. All in all,
it can be pointed out that the media play an important part
when it comes to the formation or reinforcement of beliefs
about gender. The results of the current study show that this
role is not necessarily a negative one: The portrayal of men
and women nowadays (in the TV series “Tatort”) seems to
take into account the changed standards in society and does
not stick to depictions of traditional/conservative role
images. “Tatort” may even be a trailblazer for these changes
in the studied vocational field. Since intercultural research
(Williams and Best 1990b) has shown that the most modern
Sex Roles (2010) 62:798–809
beliefs were found in European countries (including
Germany), these results found for a prominent German
television series may have implications for other countries,
too. There is not only an increasing number of women
playing the leading part in “Tatort” (Süss 1993), but the
way they are portrayed has changed as well — at least
when it comes to the display of emotions.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank the editors and
the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments.
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