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Study Says Women Feel More Guilt Than Men

by Rajshri on Mar 14 2010 9:38 AM

Experts have revealed that women feel racked with guilt more often than men.

In a study, researchers in Spain quizzed 360 men and women from three different age groups, asking questions designed to measure level of guilt in certain situations, such as "You have forgotten that today is one of your friends' or relations' birthday and you know that this type of thing is very important to him/her, and that he/she likes people to remember."

Women in two groups, the adolescent age group and the 25-33 age group, reported a higher level of expected guilt than the men.

However, in the older age group, men were more likely to demonstrate guilt levels equal to that of the women, reports The New York Daily News.

Elizabeth Shirtcliff, a psychologist and behavioral endocrinologist at the University of New Orleans, told MSNBC this trend can best be described as "men as slow learners."

When men settle down, their testosterone levels go down and their oxytocin levels rise, making them more prone to empathy, which goes hand in hand with guilt.

Later in life, the study suggests, men will exhibit a range of emotions more similar to females.

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"We do not want to say there are differences," Shirtcliff told MSNBC, "but that does not take away from the fact that gender differences are staring us in the face."

Cambridge University neuroscientist Simon Baron-Cohen writes in his book, "The Essential Difference," "The female brain is predominately hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominately hard-wired for understanding and building systems."

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Source-ANI
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