It has always been known that apart from the physical differences, men and women are so

different from each other in many different ways it is as though they originate from different
planets. Biological and psychological researchers have pointed out numerous differences
between the genders that can be helpful in understanding them a bit more. Mostly, the main
cause for communication differences between men and women is because they do not understand
the differences between themselves avidly. Cultural and social norms can greatly influence
behavior, social interactions, and personalities between genders and many of these differences
have been found to stem from childhood.

Evidence shows that for almost all men and women there are significant differences in their
brains. This means that in most instances, men and women do not think, feel, respond, or behave
in the same ways.

According to Pease and Barbara, differences in thinking between men and women stem from the
differences in their brains. The male brain has been structured in such a way that it uses just
specific parts of the hemisphere to accomplish specific tasks. The female brain on the other hand
is usually more diffused and uses parts of both hemispheres to perform a variety of tasks. Men
are usually able to narrow down on issues and block out any distractions or unrelated
information but women on the other hand view things from a broader perspective. Women are
equipped to divide their attention and focus on multiple issues with their whole brain.
Furthermore, men have about 20 times more testosterone as compared to women and because of
this they tend to be more rational thinkers, aggressive, and they are majorly focused on the
physical aspect of sex (Pease and Barbara 32). Women on the other hand are more emotional
bound when it comes to thinking about sex. Their minds are not designed to consider vision but
rather the emotional attachments that they have. Men always tend to overanalyze things before
making a decision and they think with their brains. Women on the other hand tend to make
decisions based on their emotions (Epstein et al. 390).

In terms of social interactions, research by .showed that the games played by children in
childhood contribute to the differences in their social interactions even in adulthood. For
examples, girls tend to play house more and this leads to nurturing of personal relationships since
this game does not have specific rules and objectives. Boys on the other hand are seen to engage
in more competitive games in childhood. Mostly these games contain rules and strategies and
this makes men more reserved in their social interactions even in adulthood. For this reason,
women tend to self-disclose, be more intimate, and be more open than men. Women tend to be
more affectionate and intimate than the men. According to . Women tend to value and
prioritize communication more than their male counterparts. Additionally, men form friendships
with other men based on common interests that they have while women build friendships based
on mutual support. However, in building friendships certain factors remain constant in both men
and women such as affection, proximity, effort, novelty, and communication. Men always tend
to anticipate competition from their friends and they avoid showing any type of vulnerability or
weakness. They also avoid personal communication and emotional concerns and they show
affection by exchanging favors or including their friends in their activities.
Similarly, it has been found that men and women have significant differences when it comes to
their personalities. A very influential research carried out by Paul Costa, Antonio Terracciano,
and Robert McCrae involved about 23,000 men and women from 26 different cultures answering
questionnaires. In the questionnaires, women rate themselves often as being friendlier, warmer,
sensitive, open to new ideas, and more anxious. In the personality psychology jargon, women
were found to have scored higher on neuroticism and agreeableness while the men scored higher
in openness to experience, and extraversion. Additionally, the research showed that personality
differences in the genders begin very early in life in the family. Boys were found to be more
active and more temperamental while girls were found to be more reserved and shy. They were
seen to have more control over their temperaments, behaviors, and attention. These findings are
in line with evolutionary psychologists who assert that peoples psychological traits reflect the
impacts of the survival methods experienced by our forefathers and that these survival methods
were different for both men and women (Costa, Terracciano, and McCrae 322). For example,
Feingold argues that women who had more nurturing personalities, warmth, and sensitivity were
more likely to raise children who are more sensitive and vulnerable while men who have bold
and confident personalities were more likely to win over the most attractive and suitable mates.
These traits would then end up being passed down over to successive generations and this would
be passed down further along (Feingold 429). As Marco Del Giudice says, researchers often
stress the risk of overestimating gender differences, but the converse is just as true. Pretending
that gender differences are smaller than they are deprives people of a very important piece of
knowledge about themselves and others.

In conclusion, significant differences exist between men and women in terms of thinking, social
interactions, and personality. Although the discussion above has been gathered from different
studies and writings by leading scientists, experts, and psychologists, it does not reflect or
describe every man or woman because every person is not only different but unique. However,
these findings can be very helpful in understanding the differences in men and woman and can
help in better communication and understanding of each other.

Pease, Allan, and Barbara Pease. Why Men Don't Listen & Women Can't Read Maps: How to
spot the differences in the way men & women think. Hachette UK, 2016.
Epstein, S., Pacini, R., Denes-Raj, V., & Heier, H. (1996). Individual differences in intuitive
experiential and analyticalrational thinking styles. Journal of personality and social psychology,
71(2), 390.
Costa Jr, Paul, Antonio Terracciano, and Robert R. McCrae. "Gender differences in personality
traits across cultures: robust and surprising findings." (2001): 322.
Feingold, Alan. "Gender differences in personality: a meta-analysis." Psychological bulletin
116.3 (1994): 429.
Eagly, Alice H. Sex differences in social behavior: A social-role interpretation. Psychology
Press, 2013.