Hidden Gendered Frames: Cognitive Effort in Real-time Social Interactions

• In Event: 30411 - Gender Inequality

Abstract

This paper examines the previously overlooked cognitive dimension of micro, momentary social interaction to understand gender disparities in perceived cognitive effort. While research has extensively documented the uneven division of physical and emotional labor in both domestic and public spheres, less attention has been given to the cognitive effort embedded in every social interaction and how it follows gendered lines. This study focuses specifically on interaction switching—the process of transitioning between social contexts (e.g., moving from being alone to engaging in conversation or shifting between different interaction groups). These transitions require individuals to process new information, adapt to conversational shifts, and manage social expectations in real time, which impose cognitive demands. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from a state-representative study of older adults in Indiana, we find situational gendered asymmetries in cognitive effort during interaction switching. While older women report lower cognitive effort on average, they perceive significantly higher cognitive effort when transitioning into new interactions—whereas older men do not perceive this shift. This gender difference persists even after accounting for the type of relationship, activity, and setting in the moment. Drawing on hidden gendered frames and gender schema theory, our findings suggest that cognitive effort functions as an understudied form of gendered interactional work, which could persist into later life. Taken together, our study discusses how implicit relational expectations contribute to gender inequalities in perceived cognitive experiences during moment-to-moment social interactions and challenges the assumptions that gendered social labor may decay in older age.

Authors

• Tianyao Qu, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Maleah Fekete, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Brea Louise Perry, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Siyun Peng, Indiana University-Bloomington

• Adam Roth, Oklahoma State University