Why women talk far more than men
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Let’s face it ladies, you can be real chatterboxes, but no need for concern all you have to do is blame it on science. Yes. Scientists have discovered a weird protein peculiar only to women and that might explain why the gals are always a-chatterin’. Chris Gayomali explains after the picture.
Maybe there’s a reason the phrase Chatty Kenny never caught on…
Thinkstoc
The question: Studies have long suggested that the average woman speaks about 20,000 words a day. The average man, on the other hand, hovers closer to 7,000. That means in one year, a Chatty Cathy could wind up speaking 4.7 million more words than a member of the quieter sex, or the rough equivalent of narrating War and Peace in its entirety… eight times. The reason for this has long been unclear to scientists, and it’s why a team of researchers at the University of Maryland sought to find a biological underpinning for why women tend to have a natural gift for gab. Their question: What makes women more talkative than men?
How it was tested: A team of neuroscientists and psychologists, led by Margaret McCarthy, studied rats to identify a protein called Foxp2, which was found to be associated with vocalization. Male rats, for example, tended to have more of this protein in their brains than females, and when scientists reduced the protein’s rate of production, the baby males were far less squeaky (and were given less attention from their mothers). The next step was to see if the same was true for humans. Researchers tested 10 children between the ages of three and five to see what their Foxp2 protein levels were.
The result: Compared to young boys, the girls had 30 percent more of the Foxp2 protein in a “brain area key to language in humans,” says The Telegraph. A correlation seems clear. Among rats, males are more talkative and have more of this protein. Among humans, girls are more talkative and have more of this protein in key language areas of the brain.
What the experts say: “Based on our observations, we postulate higher levels of Foxp2 in girls and higher levels of Foxp2 in male rats is an indication that Foxp2 protein levels are associated with the more communicative sex,” said McCarthy. Of course, that doesn’t mean women are always more talkative than men. “We can’t say that this is the end-all-be-all reasoning,” researcher Mike Bowers told Today, “but it is one of the first avenues with which we can start to explore why women tend to be more verbal than men.”
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James Smith
February 23, 2013 at 9:41 am
What I have never understood is how two people (OK, women) can be together all day, talk most of that time, and then stand in the door when it’s time to go and talk for another ten minutes?
Michael John Scott
February 23, 2013 at 11:14 am
LOL! I never understood that either, but now we can explain it: SCIENCE
ClemBurke
February 23, 2013 at 9:46 am
When I was a young man I had three close female friends because I was that good listener as most young gay men were back then . Now that I am older I have all straight male friends. I wonder why. I got so tired of hearing the same stories of break up’s, and girl on girl drama at the office and how she “feel’s” About everything every moment along with gossip ( which I hate). Do I sound grumpy ? Any ways, great article!
Michael John Scott
February 23, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Glad you enjoyed it Clem!
RickRay
February 23, 2013 at 2:53 pm
Never mind a protein explanation…didn’t you know “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus?” Sheesh…
James Smith
February 23, 2013 at 5:15 pm
I think we’re both from earth. Let’s learn to deal with it. If you can step back from the “two different species” idea it’s pretty amusing/amazing the differences.
For example, every woman I have ever know well at all, starting with my mother grandmother, aunts, and on to wives and those I’ve had close relationships with have been constitutionally unable to leave anything a man places in one spot without moving it, if only a few inches.
If I would place my drink in one spot, they would move it somewhere else. Maybe only a short distance, but it MUST be moved. Is this a feminine way of claiming their territory (the man)?
Even now, in our 70′s, if I place my book on the table, when I come back, it will be on a nightstand, or chair arm. Please ladies, we put stuff where we want it. Just leave it there and we won;t be complaining we can’t find it even if it is in plain sight.