If you think that guys are more likely to be affected by a woman’s emotions than by a man’s, then you’re in for a surprise. According to a study published in the journal Emotion, men actually react stronger to seeing expression on another man’s face.
An experiment conducted by the researchers from Queen Mary, University of England, was able to pick up a pattern in the way men react to facial expressions. About 100 volunteers were observed as they were shown pictures of men and women displaying different emotions. Each picture had a neutral expression and an emotional one. Upon analysis of data, it was discovered that men, when recognizing male emotions, use the right side of their brain whereas seeing women’s emotions cause them to tap into both sides of the brain equally.
However, researchers believe that there is a lot more to the study than just the two brain hemispheres. Dr. Qazi Rahman, lead author of the study from Queen Mary’s School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, said, "One theory argues that the right hemisphere of the brain deals with all emotions. The other states that positive emotions are processed by the right hemisphere and negative emotions by the left. Our work suggest both theories are over-simplifications because they don’t take 'the details' into account, such as of the sex of the person who is showing that emotion."
A man may not see a woman as an immediate threat (as opposed to another man), and he may therefore feel less urgency to react strongly to a woman's emotions. It’s possible that men are just wired to see other men as competition. In the experiment, it was also revealed that men reacted stronger to guys with angry faces compared to those with disgusted expressions. However, both were tagged as pop out emotions—emotions that hint at vigilance or threat.
It is suggested that the discrepancy in the reactions is perhaps due to the idea that men are simply more sensitive to emotions in other men that could be called aggressive. Disgust, while also a pop out emotion, is hardly one that would reach out and do damage.
Gain more insights into the male mind through these articles on FN:
- Understand Your Man's Body Clock to Predict His Moods
- Top 10 Things That Turn Guys On
- 10 Things That Turn Guys Off
- 20 Flirting Moves That Work
(Photo by Driton Avdyli via Flickr Creative Commons)
