Male vs. Female Brains: 5 Surprising Ways We Think Alike

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Most men can’t figure out female brains and many women lament why men think so differently than they do. From the notion that men can't multitask to claims that women are more talkative and emotional, popular culture bombards us with assumptions about behavioral differences based on biological sex. While many traditional beliefs about sex differences turn out to be exaggerated or unfounded, hardcore neuroscience combined with behavioral research reveals some fascinating alliances in how male and female brains typically work. These findings help explain certain behavioral patterns while confronting false beliefs based on misinformation, hearsay, or tradition.

Women do talk more (sometimes)

In some cases, females develop language skills earlier than males and maintain advantages in verbal fluency throughout life. However, the longstanding claim that women use more words per day and are more verbally expressive than men has been debunked. A recent study from 2,197 individuals across 22 different samples and four countries indicated both genders speak roughly 12,500 words daily, with high individual variation (Tidwell et al., 2025). While differences in talkativeness are not as pronounced as previously believed and are often based on cultural factors (Etchell et al., 2018), the reality is that talking varies by social context and age, with middle-aged women speaking most. Overall, the assumption that sex drives talkativeness is largely overstated and unjustified.

Men do not have a better sense of direction

Ever wonder why your partner navigates so differently than you do? People with strong spatial skills can visualize and understand how objects relate to each other in both real and imagined spaces. These skills help us rotate objects in our mind, organize work spaces, and understand how parts fit together. It turns out men and women often use different parts of their brains to find their way around. Think of it like this: Men's brains light up when solving mental puzzles or using compass directions ("Head north, then west"). Women's brains, on the other hand, excel at remembering landmarks and details ("Turn right at the brick building, then left at the coffee shop"). While both approaches work, they stem from a mix of biology and life experiences. It's like having two different routes to the same destination—neither is better, they're just different. Almost all of the variation related to who is better at following directions is based on how the information is collected and who provided the answers (Bartlett & Camba, 2023). Little, if any variation, is based on sex.

Expressing feelings is about culture, not biology

Brain imaging results show that both sexes robustly process emotions, but often differently (Chaplin, 2015). However, the more prominent distinction is not how emotional information is processed but instead when and how emotion is expressed. In Western countries, like the United States and countries in Europe, women are more likely to express positive emotions, while keeping negative emotions such as sadness and anxiety bottled up inside. Men on the other hand are more likely to show higher levels of aggression and anger than women while avoiding opportunities to communicate positivity. These findings contribute to the perception of higher reported emotional awareness and more detailed emotional memory in women (Fischer & LaFrance, 2015). However, the notion that women are "more emotional" is merely an oversimplification—men experience emotions just as intensely as women. Emotional expression is not a function of brain differences but, instead, is a reflection of cultural upbringing and gender roles in which females are “expected” to show feelings to a greater extent than males.

Attention-switching is a gender-neutral myth

First, notice I did not say “multitasking,” because multitasking is one of the most prevalent myths in cognitive science (Kirschner & De Bruyckere, 2017). We cannot think or do two or more things at once, and performance is measurably inferior on a variety of tasks when we try. However, recent research challenges the myth that women are naturally better at the quick-switch technique. Brain imaging shows that both genders experience similar performance decrements when attempting to juggle multiple complex tasks. However, women often show stronger activation in prefrontal regions associated with task-switching and working memory, potentially supporting more flexible attention allocation in certain contexts. The difference appears to be more about strategy than sex. Regardless, there is no such thing as multitasking.

Sociability

Being sociable means interacting with others, understanding social norms, and using such communication skills as active listening. Sociability can also include showing empathy for others through emotional connections that occur by accurately reflecting the thoughts and feelings of others. Females are generally superior in the quality of their relationships and social expression, while males have more numerous social contacts. When examining the demonstration of empathy, women show nominal advantages (Baez et al., 2017). However, measurement type is more influential than sex. Many indications of socialization are based on self-report; thus, what is shared is a reflection of personal bias, which leads individuals to assume gender-role stereotypes based on their culture and societal expectations. Therefore, context, not gender, is the prevailing influence on sociability.

Size matters

Recent brain imaging research with 2,153 adults challenges previous assumptions about brain differences between men and women. There is only a weak link between brain structure and behavioral variations, with this weak relationship largely explained by brain size, because male brains on average are 10 to 15 percent larger than female brains (van Eijk et al., 2021). When controlling for brain size, sex differences in behavior largely disappear. While documented behavioral differences exist between sexes, these variations are likely influenced by multiple factors beyond brain structure, including societal and cultural norms, genetic predispositions, and hormone production. Individual differences are often larger than sex-based differences, and observed variations in behavior and brain structure do not indicate superiority of either sex.

Overall, neuroscience reveals that while there are some average differences in how male and female brains process information and respond to their environment, these differences are typically subtle and based on culture, age, and socialization, rather than categorically based on sex.