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Women were historically excluded from research participation partly due to the assumption that ovarian hormone fluctuations lead to variation, especially in emotion, that could not be experimentally controlled. Although challenged in principle and practice, relevant empirical data are limited by single measurement occasions. The current paper fills this knowledge gap using data from a 75-day intensive longitudinal study. Three indices of daily affective variability—volatility, emotional inertia, and cyclicity—were evaluated using Bayesian inferential methods in 142 men, naturally cycling women, and women using three different oral contraceptive formulations (that “stabilize” hormone fluctuations). Results provided more evidence for similarities between men and women—and between naturally cycling women and oral contraceptive users—than for differences. Even if differences exist, effects are likely small. Thus, there is little indication that ovarian hormones influence affective variability in women to a greater extent than the biopsychosocial factors that influence daily emotion in men.

To what extent does gender expression vary day-to-day? Are daily changes related to psychological adjustment in the same way for all individuals? A person-specific approach was used to answer these questions in a 75-day intensive longitudinal study. Fifty-seven cisgender adults (27 women) provided over 4000 reports of daily masculinity and femininity and of three indices of internalizing problems. Results revealed: (a) substantial daily fluctuations in gender expression, especially in women; (b) sample-level links between daily increases in femininity or reductions in masculinity and heightened anxiety, depression, and self-reproach for men, but no apparent links for women; and (c) person-specific links between gender expression and psychological adjustment, such that some women reported internalizing problems with reduced masculinity (average male pattern) and some men reported problems with heightened masculinity (opposite the average male pattern). Findings highlight how intensive longitudinal research can illuminate the uniqueness of gender-related daily experiences, and their implications for the wellbeing of individuals.

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