In this very brief article, we
will go over some of the latest findings in scientific research. These
findings demonstrate the biological basis for the distinctions that
Dr Gray has been describing for the last 10 years. The intent of this
article is to underscore that importance of accepting and embracing
these naturally occurring differences for purposes of enhancing communication
and understanding.
Women relieve stress by talking with others about
feelings .
Men relieve stress by not talking
about feelings and going into the cave.
Current research has demonstrated
that females, on average, have a larger deep limbic system than males.
One of the chief functions of the limbic system is to process emotions.
It is not by chance that women are more in touch with their feelings.
They are generally better able to express their feelings than men, because
of their more developed limbic system.
A landmark UCLA study suggests that women respond to stress with a cascade
of brain chemicals that cause women to make and maintain friendships with
other women. It's a stunning finding that has turned five decades of stress
research upside down.
Scientists had generally believed that when people experience stress, they
trigger a hormonal cascade that moves the body to either stand and fight
or flee as fast as possible. It's an ancient survival mechanism left over
from the time we were chased across the planet by saber-toothed tigers.
Virtually all of the research had been done on men. Now the researchers
suspect that women have a larger behavioral repertoire than just "fight
or flight."
When the hormone oxytocin is released as part of the stress response in
a woman, it buffers the "fight or flight" response and encourages
her to tend children and gather with other women instead. When she actually
engages in this tending or befriending, studies suggest that more oxytocin
is released, which further counters stress and produces a calming effect.
This calming response does not occur in men, because testosterone, which
men produce in high levels when they're under stress, seems to reduce the
effects of oxytocin. Estrogen , most present in women, seems to enhance
it.
Under Stress Men Focus.
Under Stress
Women Expand .
Men tend to look for the most linear
straight approach (Get right to the point). Women tend to see things
as much more interconnected and therefore do not get right to the point
because they see many points.
PET scan studies of how men and women
process information show that while male and female brains perform equally
well, woman use areas on the right and left of the brain, while men use
only areas on the left side.
Martian culture values logic over feelings.
Venusian
Culture values feelings .
Testosterone is mildly damaging to
the nerve fibers in the corpus collosum in baby boys. The connecting
link between both halves of the brain in baby girls is left totally intact.
Boy babies have a little less working connective nerve fiber between
the two sides of the brain because of the presence of testosterone as
the brain develops.
The right half of the brain is more responsible for emotions. The left half
of the brain is more responsible for logic. Women have equal access to
both halves. Men seem to be generally more 'left-brained.
Martian Problem Solving strategy is based on individual differentiation
of tasks. Martian brains are evolutionarily selected to be more specialized
and lateralized toward the left hemisphere.
Venusian Problem Solving Approach is based on an interactional collaborative
approach. Venusian brains are evolutionarily selected to be less specialized
and more interactional and collaborative between left and right hemispheres.
There are also 40% more interconnections between neurons in the female brain.
Why is this information important? First, it helps everyone lighten up a
bit and laugh. Frankly it can be really beneficial to not take ourselves
so seriously. Men and women often behave differently because it is natural
for them to do so. Since nature has selected these differences there is
a purpose for them. As we begin to be more tolerant and accepting of these
differences, we can then make the necessary adjustments to improve communication
and performance that is supportive of each other.
