Research Shows Females Are More Empathetic

But it seems social gender roles are likely the reason

Hiya

Depending on which message you received growing up, empathy is either a person’s greatest strength or greatest weakness. Often, but not always, girls are taught the former while boys are taught the latter. This also contributes to why empathy is more often viewed as a female trait — along with being nurturing and docile. Meanwhile, the opposite is true for young men, who are told to either bottle or channel their emotions to be assertive leaders.

The idea that females are the more empathetic sex is so common that researchers have tested it for decades — most of which support the claim. Though, when we dig a little deeper, things aren’t quite so black and white. Sure, women appear to be more empathetic than men, but that doesn’t mean men can’t be just as, if not more, empathetic than women. In fact, recent research suggests the differences are due more to social norms than biology.

Empathy

I know you know what empathy is — it’s the ability to understand, relate to, or share other people's emotions. More than that, empathy is crucial, even required, for a society to function well. I mean, a society can absolutely exist without empathy, but I highly doubt it’s one anyone wants to be a part of.

Still, like many of our internal experiences, we may generally understand empathy, but it’s also surprisingly difficult for experts to define with absolute clarity. This is partly because empathy consists of multiple components, but it’s primarily thanks to the subtle differences in how we each experience it. For instance, if you had to choose one, would you say that empathy is the capacity to share, interpret, feel, or understand another person’s feelings?

Each word paints a general sense of empathy, but the verbs vary enough to provide a slightly different definitions. This may not seem like a big deal for you or me, but it is for psychologists and researchers because they’re the ones trying to understand how empathy works in the brain. Along with the areas of the brain responsible for empathy, and the underlying psychological mechanisms leading to its change depending on which verb is used in the definition.

It doesn’t help either that there are at least three types of empathy — Affective empathy is the ability to understand and appropriately respond to someone else’s emotional state. Somatic empathy is when you physically react to someone else’s experiences — like cringing when someone else is embarrassed. Lastly, Cognitive empathy involves understanding someone else’s mental state and what they might think in response to a situation.

Additionally, “empathy” and “emotional intelligence” are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same. Empathy, as we just discussed, refers to your ability to share (or whatever) someone else’s emotional state. Meanwhile, emotional intelligence takes things a step further because it allows you to understand not only other people’s emotions but your own, too, and how to distinguish between them.

Regardless of the technical definition, research shows empathy is hugely beneficial not just for ourselves but for society as a whole. Even in the business world — despite the catchphrase “it’s not personal, it’s business” — empathy is shown to help leaders become more successful. Workplace environments that foster empathetic relationships are also proven to be more productive.

In summary, empathy is a powerful experience for our species (and many others) to survive and thrive. In his book, The Empathic Civilization: The Race To Global Consciousness In A World In Crisis, economist Jeremy Rifkin describes empathy as “the very means by which we create social life and advance civilization.”

One may think empathy would be abundant and equal among our species, but decades of research suggest women are more empathetic than men. Now, another study can be added to the pile… and it’s a big one.