“I’m sorry” are two powerful words that can open the road to healing and improvement when said with sincerity. Sometimes, though, these words are used too often and flippantly that they lose their meaning. There are many people who ask for pardon even when the situation doesn’t call for it, and there are also those who apologize for apologizing, which makes things more confusing.
A feature on Psychology Today reveals that women tend to over-apologize more than men. According to the findings of several studies, “men might have a lower offense threshold than women,” which means that there are acts which men find normal that in contrast, women feel have to be apologized for.
“Male participants [in the study]… may be less attuned to social offenses in general,” says Dr. Juliana Breines, a post-doctoral fellow at the Brandeis University. “Another way to interpret the results is that women may sometimes be over-attuned, apologizing for perceived offences that other people do not find offensive or even notice.”
Try weaning yourself off that knee-jerk reaction of saying you're sorry." You can start by checking out this video from Elite Daily, which lists down instances that you don't need to apologize, and how to turn pardon-worthy situations into something positive:
