Posted on 07/13/2011 9:43:33 AM PDT by freespirited
If you've ever spent time telling a guy a story or asking him a question, only to get a blank stare in response, then you know that there's definitely truth to this claim that guys weren't designed to hear us speak. I had a similar experience at brunch this weekend when I was going on and on to a male friend about something I can't even remember anymore. When I got to the end of my rant and finally asked him if he agreed with me on the topic at hand, his answer was, "sorry, I really wasn't listening to a word you said."
Even though I was incredibly frustrated with him, he did bring up a good point, asking, "would you rather I lie and say I heard you?" This little exchange, as insignificant as it was, did make me wonder exactly what it is that makes it so easy for men to tune us out.
As it turns out, a study published in the journal NeuroImage sought to answer the very same question. Researchers found that there are major differences in the way male and female brains process voice sounds. Different brain regions are activated in men, depending on whether they're hearing a male or female voice.
Apparently, the vibration and number of sound waves in our voice makes it harder for men to decipher what we're saying. When it comes to processing a woman's voice, they use the more complex auditory part of the brain that processes music, not human voices. But the guys in the study could easily hear and understand other men’s voices as speech because that uses a simpler brain mechanism at the back of the brain.
So, next time you want to get angry and yell at a guy for "not listening," cut him a little slack – his brain just wasn't made to hear you. My suggestion would be to speak slowly and get to your point fast.
To the headline: well duh!
Male Brains Aren’t Designed To Listen to Female Voices
-Andrea Uku
Huh?
-Grunthor
Women could certainly improve their half of the communication by increasing their signal:noise ratio.
If Martina McBride or Shania Twain wanted to talk to me, I’d listen to them for hours. My brain can take the abuse.
Well, I dunno about.....wait, what was the author saying?
I started to read this, but I got bored.
b.s.
I’m glad Kaslin didn’t post this. I would have overlooked it...
“at brunch this weekend”
I guess people still do “brunch”?
Sounds very metro.
Huh? What?
I’m gonna have to send this to the GF. On more than one occasion I’ve gotten the evil eye for not listening.
So only babies are more of their (female voice) true target?
What other use then? I don’t think female - female conversation is that great either.
Something you can't even remember probably wasn't worth mentioning in the 1st place. The male no doubt could sense this.
Lets see, she was “ was going on and on to a male friend about something I can’t even remember anymore”, and she expects him to pay attention to her babbling? How about just shut up?
mmmmph...
ummm, hmmmm...
yuh...
(Wait - what did I just agree to??????)
Natural defense.
Where is the Captain Obvious graphic...
Actually males hear females quite well when they say the right words. Yes, being one of them.
How much money did we waste on this study?
Well, women could just type it up and mail it. I think I’ll tell me wife.
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