03:53
Faizan
The famous book "Men Are From Mars, Women Are from Venus," by John Gray, talked about the differences between the sexes, but not so much the similarities. However, in 2005, Janet Shibley Hyde published the results of a study in American Psychologist that showed differences between men and women were grossly exaggerated, finding that 78 percent of potential gender differences were very small or close to zero. Most differences depend on the different hormones in men and women, mainly testosterone and estrogen.
Personality
Hyde looked at 120 traits in her study, including personality. Although she says that men and women are more alike in personality than different, research shows that men process information in the brain's left hemisphere, allowing them better problem-solving skills from a task-oriented perspective. Women tend to be more creative when solving problems.
Men also perform higher in mathematics because of their reliance on left brain function. Women have a larger right brain, which allows them to process sensory information better than men.
In Relationships
The same study by Hyde confirms that men are more aggressive than women, especially when it comes to sex. While both men and women can communicate with one another, women are better communicators because they tend to talk through issues and give nonverbal cues, such as tone inflection and empathy.
During stressful situations in relationships, men respond with "fight or flight," while women want to "tend or befriend," terms coined by psychologist Shelley E. Taylor. The "tend or befriend" response comes from estrogen, which increases the effects of oxytocin, a calming hormone. A man's response is affected by testosterone, which reduces oxytocin.
More Similarities
Even though men and women use different sides of the brain and respond differently to stressful situations, they still solve problems equally well. In fact, they have similar goals when approaching problems and simply use different approaches to find solutions.
Because men are aggressive and possess less empathy, women are thought to have more sensitivity. However, both have physical alarms when threatened. The difference is only in the response, as men react with more aggression.
Memory
Both men and women possess great memory skills. The way that women remember events is through strong emotional components. Men memorize events with strategies, reconstructing the event with elements, tasks or activities that occurred during the time. The hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, reacts differently to testosterone in men and progesterone and estrogen in women. The changing levels of estrogen and progesterone allow women to process emotional memories better than men.
Personality
Hyde looked at 120 traits in her study, including personality. Although she says that men and women are more alike in personality than different, research shows that men process information in the brain's left hemisphere, allowing them better problem-solving skills from a task-oriented perspective. Women tend to be more creative when solving problems.
Men also perform higher in mathematics because of their reliance on left brain function. Women have a larger right brain, which allows them to process sensory information better than men.
In Relationships
The same study by Hyde confirms that men are more aggressive than women, especially when it comes to sex. While both men and women can communicate with one another, women are better communicators because they tend to talk through issues and give nonverbal cues, such as tone inflection and empathy.
During stressful situations in relationships, men respond with "fight or flight," while women want to "tend or befriend," terms coined by psychologist Shelley E. Taylor. The "tend or befriend" response comes from estrogen, which increases the effects of oxytocin, a calming hormone. A man's response is affected by testosterone, which reduces oxytocin.
More Similarities
Even though men and women use different sides of the brain and respond differently to stressful situations, they still solve problems equally well. In fact, they have similar goals when approaching problems and simply use different approaches to find solutions.
Because men are aggressive and possess less empathy, women are thought to have more sensitivity. However, both have physical alarms when threatened. The difference is only in the response, as men react with more aggression.
Memory
Both men and women possess great memory skills. The way that women remember events is through strong emotional components. Men memorize events with strategies, reconstructing the event with elements, tasks or activities that occurred during the time. The hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory, reacts differently to testosterone in men and progesterone and estrogen in women. The changing levels of estrogen and progesterone allow women to process emotional memories better than men.
Posted in: Friendship
