A study shows, for the first time in physical terms, what many have felt for a long time: women are more empathetic than men, who enjoy watching an act of revenge
Elizabeth Rosenthal
In his book "Don Juan" Lord Byron wrote, "Sweet is revenge - especially for women". But a study published last week, carried out using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests, suggests that men may be the more natural avengers.
It turned out that when men watched footage of people they considered "bad" receiving a mild electric shock, the magnetic resonance imaging showed activity in the areas of the subjects' brains associated with a sense of reward, while the empathy centers in their brains remained inactive. On the other hand, in women who watched the footage of the punishment, no reaction was recorded in the areas of the brain related to retribution, even though they also said that they do not like the "bad guys". Their empathy centers showed quiet activity.
The study shows for the first time in physical terms what many have felt for a long time: in general, women are more empathetic than men, while men greatly enjoy watching an act of revenge.
The men "expressed more desire for revenge and seemed satisfied when unfair people received what the subjects saw as appropriate physical punishment," said Dr. Tanya Singer, lead researcher in the Department of Neuroscience at University College London. However, instead of denouncing the male urge for revenge, Singer claims that it has an important social role: "This type of behavior probably played a critical role in the development of society, because most people in a group are motivated to punish those who cheated others."
The study is part of a growing body of research that attempts to better understand behavior and emotions, by looking at the physiological changes that occur in the brain. This has been possible in recent years with the help of imaging technology. "Imaging is still at the beginning of the road, but we are moving from a descriptive form of research to a more mechanistic one," said Dr. Klaas Stefan, who was a partner in the study.
The team led by Dr. Singer tried to check if the level of empathy shown by the research participants corresponded to the degree of affection or dislike they felt for the person receiving punishment. The researchers did not seek to examine differences according to the subject's gender.
To cultivate feelings of liking or disliking among the 32 volunteers, the researchers asked them to play a complex strategic game aimed at accumulating money. The volunteers were divided into pairs. According to the rules of the game, cooperation between the spouses increases their chances of increasing their profits. The ranks of the volunteers were infiltrated by players, who were instructed by the researchers to play selfishly. According to Dr. Stefan, soon the volunteers "loved very much" the couple who cooperated and disliked those who made sure to leave sums of money with them.
After being "trained" to like or dislike their play partners, the volunteers were asked to watch the different partners while they received a mild electric shock. While they watched this, their brains were scanned in an MRI machine. The MRI scans showed that both men and women "felt" the pain of their loved partners. But the real surprise was revealed when the volunteers watched their disliked partners get electrocuted. "When the women watched their partners receive a mild electric shock, they still showed an empathic response, although it was more limited," said Dr. Stephan. "The men did not show any empathic response." In addition, the researchers discovered that in the men the pleasure areas of the brain showed activity when the punishment was "justified".
The researchers noted that the findings should be treated with caution and that it is not clear whether the differences in men's and women's attitudes toward revenge are innate, or whether social experiences create the different reactions. According to Dr. Singer, more studies are needed to see if different reactions will be recorded in cases of revenge, which does not involve causing pain. However, she added that "this study seems to indicate that men have a central role in maintaining justice and imposing punishments."
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