Women are more generous than men, this has been evidenced by the behavioral experiments carried out so far. Now, a team of researchers from the University of Zurich (Switzerland) has shown that female and male brains process prosocial and selfish behavior differently . For women, prosocial behavior triggers a stronger reward signal, while male reward systems respond more strongly to selfish behavior. This is the first study to prove that men’s and women’s brains respond differently to prosocial and selfish behavior.
In a double-blind experiment designed to identify whether differences in our brain chemistry could help explain generosity, scientists restricted receptors for dopamine (which helps communicate pleasure and reward) in a group of 55 volunteers ( 27 women and 28 men) and observed their brain reaction when awarding them a sum of money. Specifically, the volunteers were randomized into two groups before injecting them with the dopamine sippressor or the placebo.
Next, they had to carry out two tasks. First, they could choose between two possibilities: keep a large amount of Swiss francs in hand, or obtain a smaller reward shared with a friend or with the group. In the second task, the participant was offered the between a small reward now and a larger reward if he waited 90 days. Once evaluated, the two groups were exchanged.
The results
When taking the placebo, the women in the study chose to share with each other 51% of the time. Men, on the other hand, did this just 40% of the time. With the dopamine blocker, the women reduced this percentage to 45%. Men were a bit more prosocial without dopamine, sharing their money with others 44% of the time.
The study indicates that, in a gender division of the male or female participants, there could be differences in terms of the neurotransmitter that pushes them to be a little more loving and generous.
Limitations
It is not clear if this difference extracted from the study could emerge from variations in our chromosomes, or if it is a behavior learned and forged by decades of social conditioning.
Furthermore, a group of 55 people is also a fairly small sample size, and the differences – while interesting – weren’t exactly overwhelming.
Despite this, the findings raise some fascinating questions about the limits of decision-making and the influence of gender. Throughout history, scientists have debated the characteristics that separate men and women and have wondered how much of them belongs to nature itself and how much is subject to change. Experiments like this offer tools to study the neurochemistry behind pro and antisocial behaviors, so that we will soon be able to better understand the subtle interactions of genetics, culture, and anatomy.
Reference: Alexander Soutschek, Christopher J. Burke, Anjali Raja Beharelle, Robert Schreiber, Susanna C. Weber, Iliana I. Karipidis, Jolien ten Velden, Bernd Weber, Helene Haker, Tobias Kalenscher, Philippe N. Tobler. The dopaminergic reward system underpins gender differences in social preferences. Nature Human Behavior, 2017; DOI: 10.1038 / s41562-017-0226-y
