Who are More Empathetic- Men or Women

Women are more empathic than men at any age and in any region, according to a survey involving hundreds of thousands of people worldwide.

Highlights:

Empathy- the ability to comprehend, imagine, or experience the emotions of others- is an important trait in almost every aspect of life, notably business
The ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test’, or simply the ‘Eyes Test’, was used to assess both emotional and cognitive empathy among the participants. They examined photographs of people’s eyes and attempted to determine the mood expressed
On average, women scored considerably higher in cognitive empathy than men across 36 nations. The findings were consistent across eight languages and the lifespan, ranging from 16 to 70 years old

A new study has emerged to validate the widely held belief that ladies are better than males in understanding how other people feel.

A large study published in the journal PNAS stated that this is true at any age and in any country.

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‘It was previously general knowledge that women are better than males at putting themselves in the shoes of others, but science now backs up that claim.’

Testing Sympathetic Reactions Among People

Researchers from Cambridge, Harvard, US; IMT School for Advanced Studies in Italy, Bar-Ilan University, and Haifa University in Israel conducted an online test called the ‘Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test’ or ‘Eyes Test’ to assess the sympathetic reactions of over 300,000 people aged 16 to 70 from 57 countries including Argentina, Croatia, Egypt, India, Japan, and Norway.

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What is the ‘Eyes Test’

Participants in the test must evaluate photos of the area surrounding a person’s eyes. The subject is producing a specific facial expression, and the study participant must identify from a list of possibilities what that person is thinking or experiencing. Scientists regularly utilize this exam to identify whether a person has mental or cognitive difficulties. According to prior studies, people with autism, dementia, and eating disorders, among other conditions, usually score lower on these exams.

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Women are More Empathetic Than Men

“Our results provide some of the first evidence that the well-known phenomenon - that females are on average more empathic than males - is present in a wide range of countries across the globe. It’s only by using very large data sets that we can say this with confidence,” said David Greenberg, a psychologist and social neuroscientist at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University and lead author of the study.

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Empathy Decreases with Age

“That shallow reduction in empathy raises some issues regarding what are the relevant components that are at play,” said David M. Greenberg, a psychologist and researcher at Bar-Ilan University and Cambridge University. The investigation was unable to pinpoint the source of the decline. Greenberg hypothesized that it could be partly biological, with hormonal changes in the body, or it could be due to a social or environmental element. The study also failed to explain why women exhibited so much greater cognitive empathy than males.

Previous studies have also shown that women are more empathic. It’s still unclear why this appears to be the case, and academics are calling for more research to figure out why.

Importance of Understanding Gender Disparities in Empathy

It may help researchers better understand why some mental health problems affect males more than women. This latest study, according to the researchers, could potentially help scientists build better support for people who struggle to read facial emotions.

The co-author of the study, Carrie Allison, who is also the director of applied research at the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University, said in a news release, “This study clearly demonstrates a largely consistent sex difference across countries, languages, and ages. This raises new questions for future research about the social and biological factors that may contribute to the observed on-average sex difference in cognitive empathy.”

Source-Medindia