Men And Women Really Do See Things Differently - This Is How
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Men and women are different in many ways - not only physically, but also mentally, which many different behavioural patterns show.
You have probably all had fights with your significant other where you just couldn't understand the reasons for your parter's actions!
Now, British scientists have conducted a study which shows that men and women really see things differently.
The Experiment
The team from the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) was studying the different ways that men and women process visual information.
They tested visitors of the London Science Museum, and equipped them with an eye-tracking device.
The subjects were then sat in front of a monitor which displayed video clips of different actors (4 male, 4 female) that were sometimes looking directly at the camera, sometimes looking down.
While the device was tracking all their eye movements, the participants looked at the face, and it was monitored how much eye contact they were seeking or avoiding.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://jov.arvojournals.org/data/Journals/JOV/935848/m_i1534-7362-16-14-16-f09.png)
The Results
The results of the study showed that women were looking more at different parts of the face, while men were more focused on the eyes only.
Generally, they paid more attention to the left half of the face, especially women when looking at female actors.
Women also make larger saccades and shorter fixations, compared to men.
The results were so clear that the researchers could even predict the gender of the subject with 80% accuracy, only by looking at the viewing pattern.
"This study is the first demonstration of a clear gender difference in how men and women look at faces. We are able to establish the gender of the participant based on how they scan the actors' face"-Dr. Antoine Coutrot, QMUL School of Biological & Chemical Sciences
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In previous studies, it had already been shown that women's gazes are more scattered than men's. They explore the body more with their gaze, actively looking for nonverbal signals.
The left-side-bias might be linked to the dominance of our right side of the brain in face processing.
"“There are numerous claims in popular culture that women and men look at things differently – this is the first demonstration, using eye tracking, to support this claim that they take in visual information in different ways.”"-Isabelle Mareschal, QMUL School of Biological & Chemical Sciences
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Conclusion
While many have studied the general differences between men and women before, this was the first study of its kind that has shown how men and women process visual information when looking at faces.
The researchers suggest that although only face processing has been tested, the same patterns will likely apply to other daily activities like watching a movie or driving.
So men and women really do view things in a different way!
The results of the study could be used to improve the diagnosis and understanding of disorders like autism, schizophrenia, or ADHD.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://jov.arvojournals.org/data/Journals/JOV/935848/m_i1534-7362-16-14-16-f12.png)
Apart from this study, previous research had already shown that men are better at detecting quick movements, while women can distinguish colors more precisely.
This has an evolutionary background:
Men were focused on hunting and had to have extremely fast hand-eye-coordination skills.
Women on the other hand were the gatherers, and had to be experts in determining whether a fruit was edible or not - which is why even the slightest differences in color mattered to them.
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© Sirwinchester
This is a great post with all of the details and charts. But I especially like the opening image with STEEMIT logo. That is slick.
Resteemed
Thanks.
Thank you for the compliment , I'm glad you enjoyed the post!
You are welcome and once again thank you for the informative post.
Just followed you here and on IG.
Once again another good details blog. You are the king. Love your blog. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for your compliments, much appreciated!
Very interesting, now I know why some women get nervous when you look them in the eyes, and how their eye move all over the place. Thanks for the post.
I thought this was an interesting point as well.
Make you wonder how many problems could be solved between men and women if we were more aware of our subtle differences. Thanks for the reply.
Yep info could solve a lot of wrong perceptions I'm sure.
So true! :)
Yes it's true, there really IS a difference between male and female in this case. Crazy how the human body works.
Every man probably knows that feel :D
Congrats to the great article, well researched! Looking in the eyes probably also came from staring down opponents or trying to find out of what fight move they would do.
Followed you for more stuff like this ;) Keep it up!
I love this chart. My wife always tells me I'm colorblind (I'm not) because we never agree on what to call some color.
Me: "Nice new pillows, why yellow?"
Her: "those aren't yellow!? Are you serious?"
Me: "ok....cool pillows"
Hahaha, yes I've seen that before - so true.
Wonderful research work, your are right, the perception of men and women are not the same. This is commonknowledge and you have proven it by presenting the result of the findings in this research to this great community. Great job. Keep it coming.
Thank you for the feedback , I'm glad you enjoyed he post!
Your welcome
Your welcome
Brilliant post!
It’s all in the eyes
![item190180.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmfHABAi9fJh2hLtcvx45ioR4MZ2UF2uuVCXoaraZimphA/item190180.jpg)
Dr Isabelle Marescahl overseeing research at the Science Museum
#upvoteForUpvote #helpGrowSteem
Interesting, thanks for sharing!
It always amazes me that people think we're exactly alike. I guess it has its routes in gender equality and sexism, which are very real issues. However we can be realistic without being sexist.
I remember a study a while back that showed how girls learn differently from boys, and there is very good evidence to suggest that they should be split up for some classes, and brought back together for others.
Essentially, nothing makes sense without the light of evolutionary biology shone on it. Like you say, men have better speed judging skills, and women more gathering skills.
Also I think women are generally more empathetic, as reading signs from a potential mate or foe, would have been a lot more life and death (sometimes still is) for a woman than a man.
Nice post, I really enjoy these, and I wish I had visited the science museum whilst this was going on!
Cg
I agree, I think it's disadvantageous to equate gender equality with gender sameness. Perhaps this is due to my religious upbringing, but I always subscribed to the notion that the two major genders were developed over time to be complementary. It's only in our -- until very recently -- very androcentric society that difference from men came to be construed as being less valuable than men.
Moreover, it's true that "masculine" women and "feminine" men exist, but that does not make the generalization invalid.
nice experiment and observation :)
Nice post I read. It is very interesting for me to know how men and women are different while seeking things. Hope you will share other posts like this.
I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for your comment!