A team of neuroscientists have claimed the stereotype that women are kinder and less selfish than their male counterparts is true
According to a
research paper, the stereotype is supported by evidence that the brain’s reward system may be geared towards more “pro-social” behaviour in women.
“It was known that women and men behave differently, but it was not known why, or how this comes about in the brain,” said Philippe Tobler, associate professor of neuro-economics and social neuroscience at the University of Zurich, and co-author of the research paper.
The scientists noted that it is not clear whether the gender differences they see in the brain’s reward system are in any way “innate,” or whether they are the result of social pressures.
But, the research revealed that women seem to get more of a chemical reward for being generous than men do.
Tobler and his colleagues from Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands carried out two studies, to find out whether dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in the brain’s reward system, is linked to different social behaviours in men and women.
According to a report by the Guardian, in the first study, a group of 56 men and women were randomly allocated to two groups, and either given a placebo- a sugar pill or amisulpride– a drug that blocks the action of dopamine in the brain.
Neither the scientists nor the participants knew which pill was given to the test group.
The participants were then presented with a hypothetical situation in which they could either claim a wad of cash for themselves, or split a chunk of money evenly with another person, ranging from someone close to a complete stranger. After completing the task, the experiment was repeated with participants taking the alternative pill.
The results revealed that when taking the placebo, 51% of the time women chose to share the money, while for men the figure was lower, at 40%. But after taking the amisulpride, women were less keen to share, while men became more pro-social, opting to split the cash 45% and 44% of the time respectively.
In the second study, the team looked at data from 40 men and women who had undergone brain imaging while undertaking decisions on whether to share money, focusing on the activity of a value-processing region of the brain that relies on dopamine signaling.
The team found that when making pro-social choices, activity in this brain region was stronger for women than men, suggesting a greater dopamine response.
The researchers say that, taken together, the studies support the idea that the dopamine-based reward system is geared towards sharing behaviour in women and more selfish behaviour in men.
The study was first appeared in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. The Guardian later published an article featuring the research findings.