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Do Women Talk More Than Men?

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rdowns

macrumors Penryn
Original poster
Jul 11, 2003
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Male and female students both talk the talk, study says

July 5, 2007

BY RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Another stereotype — chatty gals and taciturn guys — bites the dust.

Turns out, when you actually count the words, there isn’t much difference between the sexes when it comes to talking.

A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.

The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.

The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669.

The difference: 546 words. “Not statistically significant,” say the researchers.

“What’s a 500-word difference, compared with the 45,000-word difference between the most and the least talkative persons” in the study, said Mehl. He said the least talkative person in the study — a male — used just over 500 words a day, while another male topped that by more than 45,000.
 
I just read about that study earlier this evening... it sounds like a nice piece of work. I wonder if they plan on doing any kinds of analyses regarding content or usage of language by the two sexes.
 
:rolleyes: I could have told you that. I swear... having spent more of my life as a friend of guys, they talk a helluva lot of s***. Just different s***. Okay, to elaborate a bit, I've found that my female friends get catty about the way people look or dress. The guys I've hung out with do all that (I mean, that's how I first learned of the term, "muffin-top") but they also talk about perceived sexual promiscuity. And made assumptions about women and how they may interact with other women. As if that made a huge difference to them? :confused:

Anyhow... The chattiest and biggest poo-talkers I know are all of the penile-variety.
 
I thought men talked more than women. :rolleyes:
It's not that surprising that women talk more than men. It's not always true though. Some men could talk more than women. It really depends what subject each person talks about.
 
I've heard of a UK study that men on average talk about 25% as much as women, though it may be heresay. I am quite talkative compared to most people I know though (even the women ;) ).
 
Honestly, I think it solely depends on a person's personality (i.e. how social, outgoing. and opinionated they are). I'm pretty sure I talk more than any other person I know. I'll find myself having 5-minute conversations with complete strangers. I have no problem speaking to other people and carrying on a conversation with them. It probably just depends on who you are.
 
In this case students were studied. That is a small portion of the population.

Ask any man who is married and he will give you a much different answer! ;)
 
Oh I definitely talk more than Caroline :D but we're in completely different environments. She's in a student house and probably talks the arses of all the girls there, I live at home and don't really talk to anybody here. So when I see my friends or whenever I ring Caroline. BAM. Attack of the chat.
 
mkrishnan said:
I wonder if they plan on doing any kinds of analyses regarding content or usage of language by the two sexes.
Click to expand...

Similiar questions rattled my brain.

Just a guess- but I'd imagine that women tend to cover more topics by linking from one subject to a related subject, to a related topic, then maybe back to the original. I'd also guess that men tend to talk about one topic, and then move on to others.

I watched a neuro guy on TV discuss how the male / female brain works and he explained that men tend to think about one thing - while women tend to freely associate topics.

So - yeah - we use about the same amount of words, but what are we doing with them ?
 
This research experiment was done on college students, who are likely to be intelligent and "tuned in" individuals with lots to talk about, with an active and interacting mixture of men and women.

Perhaps a study of middle school through high school students would find that the boys are quietly sullen more often than the girls with their better developed social skills. Or that girls are quieter because the math and science teachers never call on them!

And a study of middle-aged married couples might find that there's some truth behind Silent Husband Syndrome. Mr. Smith just sits on the sofa and clicks the remote while Mrs. Smith answers the phone, greets visitors, and complains "You never talk to me anymore!"

I see that sushi said something similar above.
 
maybe because the talk that many men do is of less family friendly topics than women. i've noticed that they talk about even, as i hang out with guys and gals alot.
 
furcalchick said:
maybe because the talk that many men do is of less family friendly topics than women. i've noticed that they talk about even, as i hang out with guys and gals alot.
Click to expand...

I've noticed that girls who sit on on man-talk are often very surprised at what we talk about....I often pause during conversations with groups of other guys and realize how ridiculous our conversation would sound if exposed to the general public. :p
 
Doctor Q said:
This research experiment was done on college students, who are likely to be intelligent and "tuned in" individuals with lots to talk about, with an active and interacting mixture of men and women.

Perhaps a study of middle school through high school students would find that the boys are quietly sullen more often than the girls with their better developed social skills. Or that girls are quieter because the math and science teachers never call on them!

And a study of middle-aged married couples might find that there's some truth behind Silent Husband Syndrome. Mr. Smith just sits on the sofa and clicks the remote while Mrs. Smith answers the phone, greets visitors, and complains "You never talk to me anymore!"

I see that sushi said something similar above.
Click to expand...


And here I thought that you would run some statistics and find out the truth to this age old question Doctor Q. ;) :D :)
 
dmw007 said:
And here I thought that you would run some statistics and find out the truth to this age old question Doctor Q. ;) :D :)
Click to expand...
You should know that science and mathematics can't explain women - they are beyond our understanding. And you can't study men because they get bored and wander away.
 
It's not that woman talk more than men but rather women talk different to men.

For example next time your gf/wife/whatever gets off the phone to her female friend after an hour, ask her what they spoke about. She won't be able to tell you because you, being a man will expect a logical sequential answer. Her explaining the conversation would be like trying to catch the wind in a hessian bag.
 
I would have to say that women talk more than men. If you compare either of my sisters to me, they probably talk ten fold more than I do, but I consider myself rather shy, and I don't really like to talk on the phone. My dad is the same way, we both just seem to listen, but not really talk that much.
 
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