Discussions
Everyone agrees: "Women are hard to read"
Posted by donkeySOUP • 2/06/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: psychological science journal, women
Everyone agrees: "Women are hard to read"
msnbc.msn.com/id/29034232
A new study backs up what men have said all along: Women are difficult to read. And the women agree.
Researchers at Indiana University showed video clips from 24 different speed dates and asked male and female participants two simple questions: "Do you think the man was interested in this woman?" and "Do you think the woman was interested in this man?" Their answers were then compared with the responses of the speed daters themselves.
The results, published in the January issue of the journal Psychological Science, show that both men and women are able to gauge a man's interest in a woman, but are equally baffled when it comes to figuring out if a woman is interested in a man.
In fact, a flip of a coin would be almost as accurate in predicting a woman's romantic interest on a date.
Skyler S. Place, who headed up the study, says that the biological drive behind dating - finding an optimal mate for gene promotion - gives women reason to be elusive.
"Being coy forces the men to spend more time interacting with the woman, because they are unsure if they have successfully courted her", Place said. "Therefore, the woman has more time to gather information about her date."
Ultimately, women have more at stake while dating because they face higher "sunk costs" - a woman can carry the child of only one man at a time, while a man can impregnate many women.
"From an evolutionary perspective, there is nothing wrong with a woman being 'open' and 'honest' about who she is - it is simply in her best interest not to present herself as actually interested immediately," Place said.
User Comments
-
Don't men love it when we keep them guessing though? And let's face it,it helps men practise their communication skills. -
I beg to differ. I am an open book
-
I join your team, Kellybax LoL! It makes..two open books! I swear; see my wholisticmagicalworld.ning.com/ everyone, even the main page is an open book : )
Sariana -
I join your team, Kellybax LoL! It makes..two open books! I swear; see my wholisticmagicalworld.ning.com/ everyone, even the main page is an open book : )
Sariana
-
-
Not as hard as the badly printed instruction leaflets you get with new Chinese love eggs.....I would guess. -
I'm brutally honest. So I guess I'm not hard to read at all
-
women are too simple to read but they make it too complex for others.
the fact is that they try to please everybody and in the end, please nobody.-
Maybe it is you that just cannot be pleased?
-
-
Sure thing my friend.. sure thing-
not that im too nosy.. but thats the thing some girls have done to me and my frineds..tats why
-
-
And verily, a woman need know but one man well, in order to understand all men; where as a man may know all women and understand not one of them. - Helen Rowland -
I think guys are harder to read, but then as I'm not one I would think that. -
"everyone agrees" huh? i guess i was left out of this world-wide poll.-
My husband must have been, too.
-
-
guys are definitely harder to read cause its still hard to find them the perfect gift. With me you know, I just want sex
-
I thought we were only talking about guys' point of view. what are you monkeySOUP? the fair sex or the sterner sex?
-
hmm...I may regret this, but what the hell is monkeysoup?
-
//I thought we were only talking about guys' point of view//
This article is SELF-EXPLANATORY! (source url is pasted too)
This is a VERBATIM copy-paste post (including the title). This is posted here FYI pls. For any CLARIFICATION on its sample study and validity, you are advised to contact Skyler S. Place.
If you want my opinion, its somewhat difficult to assess a woman (or any person for that matter) during the first meeting. However, if a person is not able to read a woman even after several ATTEMPTS, then it is HIS fault.
//what are you//
Take some time to go thru a person's profile before jumping the gun!!
-
-
No one ever asked me...
So I guess I am again - not part of the "everyone"
But - I don't agree... -
@ bennygreenberg, so you can read women easily?
-
I never said "easily"
I did say - "I did not agree"
I think that as with everything else in life - Woman "start out" harder to read - but with each passing moment - that "hard to read" becomes easier. Of course the better the relationship the "easier" - and the more "experience" the easier as well.
"Reading another person" Is not a perfect science - but rather a skill set that can be acquired over time. Some "gut" feeling - some "wavelength" reaction and some "blind faith" all mixed together.
-
-
What a load of flimflam and balderdash, I am as clear as mud in these matters.-
yep a load of shite! clear enough? -
Ha! spot on missus
-
-
then I am easy to read -
Please, let's not categorize; if women are 'hard to read' then maybe it is time to change perception? Maybe? Maybe these 'readers' read women through their own filters?
Maybe some women want to play mysterious, I guess they get a kick out of it, but there is no reason whatsoever to put all women in one flock.
Talk to me; what you see is what you get. And vice versa. Keep it simple : )
Sariana -
I don't want to be an open book where's the fun in that, I'd prefer to be a good thriller with a twist at the end!
-
@myriadlife, is that a red dress on a mannequin?
-
No, it's a red pashmina on a mannequin - it's just the way I tie them!
-
-
Women are hard to read? I don't think so - they are like an "Atlas Road Map" and most any man can "see" the directions clearly.
Now, "understanding" a women is a totally different matter all together. Why? Because, as soon as a man gets to that "final destination" (communication, agenda, reasoning or something else) she is off on another adventure.
Maybe, this explains why women can look in the same mirror in the same restroom and carry on a conversation with total strangers as if they were always life long friends - but, the men? No way!
P.S. I have a wife of 31 years and nine daughters....
-
Just wanted to share this advertisement(yeah, I'm spamming :-D)
BTW, I love women in general. -
Thank goodness I am married. -
I can be very hard to read if I want to be (ask my husband!). But I am usually pretty frank with people so they know my meaning--because I tell them up front.
Add Your Comment
Login to leave a message.
