Like we didn't know

A lot of studies do nothing but confirm what most of us already know intuitively. This report from China is a prime example.

Empathy: Who cares most?

A neurological study shows that women have a greater ability to recognize the emotion of other people than men

It has long been suspected that men and women differ in their ability to empathize. Now Shihui Han and co-workers at Peking University in Beijing¹ have gained the first neurological evidence of this gender difference.

Thirteen males and thirteen females were asked to do simple tasks while being shown images — some of which included painful situations, such as hands being trapped in doors or cut by scissors (pictured). The images of painful situations caused both men and women to perform the tasks less accurately.

At the same time, the 'event-related brain potentials' of each subject were monitored using scalp electrodes. These showed that the brain transmits an early signal in the frontal lobe to differentiate between painful and non-painful images. This is followed by a signal response that appears later with longer latency over the central brain that represents controlled evaluation of the pain. The second signal was stronger, and lasted longer, in females than in males.

The results imply that females evaluate painful stimuli more intensively than males — possibly because the care of offspring requires more sensitivity to danger signals. This reinforces the notion that men traditionally function as the liaison between family and society, while women focus on interpersonal harmony in the family unit.

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