MSGID: 1:317/3 646ee495   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Gender trumps politics in determining people's ability to read others'   
   minds    
      
     Date:   
         May 24, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Bath   
     Summary:   
         Researchers at the University of Bath surveyed over 4,000 people   
         to test social ability and found that being female and educated   
         are some of the best predictors for how well you get on with and   
         understand others.   
      
      
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   FULL STORY   
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   Political parties regularly claim to have their finger on the pulse and   
   be able to read the public mood. Yet a new study challenges the idea that   
   being political makes you good at understanding others: it shows gender,   
   not politics, is a far more important factor in determining people's   
   social skills.   
      
   Analysis of a sample of 4,000 people from across the UK, compiled by a   
   team of psychologists at the University of Bath, highlights that being   
   female and educated are the biggest determinants of whether you can   
   understand or read others' minds.   
      
   For their study the psychologists looked at qualities associated with   
   understanding others such as agreeableness, picking up on subtle clues   
   and self-reflection. In psychology, this is known as 'theory of mind': the   
   capacity to understand other people by ascribing mental states to them.   
      
   The team stress these results represent averages, but they say their study   
   is an important reminder about the drivers of agreement and disagreement   
   in public life. Their findings are published today (Wednesday 24 June)   
   in the journal PLOS One.   
      
   Age was only associated with understanding others in later life: on   
   average, older people had poorer ability to understand other people.   
      
   Dr Punit Shah, Senior author, Associate Professor and leading expert   
   on social cognitive processing at the University of Bath explains:   
   "In a world where it seems increasingly difficult to hold and express   
   different points of view, it is crucial that we understand the barriers   
   to connecting with other people.   
      
   "Political views are often thought of as such a barrier, but our research   
   actually shows that a person's politics is not, in fact, linked to how   
   well they understand others.   
      
   "Importantly, we didn't just find an absence of evidence for a political   
   link in the study. The analyses also provided evidence of absence for   
   this link.   
      
   This is a socially important finding that might help to break down some   
   artificially constructed barriers between people and ultimately improve   
   understanding between different people in our society."  Shah argues   
   that the link between being educated and female and better understanding   
   other perspectives is also important.   
      
   He adds: "Historically male perspectives have been prioritised in   
   society. We are of course seeing this narrative diminish over time, and   
   research like ours adds extra evidence to highlight the important role   
   of education and being female for social understanding and cohesion   
   in society -- far more so than politics."  To conduct the research,   
   the team asked members of the public to provide details about their   
   socio-demographic background, as well as to score their political beliefs   
   (ranging from 1 = very liberal, to 7 = very conservative).   
      
   They also used a 'mindreading test' to ascertain how well participants   
   understood what other people are thinking.   
      
   This test -- developed by the same team in 2021 -- asks a series of   
   simple statements, such as: 'I can usually understand another person's   
   viewpoint, even if it differs from my own'; and 'I find it easy to put   
   myself in somebody else's shoes'.   
      
   Lead researcher, Dr Rachel Clutterbuck, emphasised that these findings   
   could improve our understanding of social differences between people:   
   "The reasons for why some people are better at understanding others   
   are not well understood, but this research provides a glimpse into some   
   individual differences, such as gender, which may help to explain these   
   social differences.   
      
   "Our results are new because the study considered so many factors --   
   like gender, education, age, and politics -- in tandem, rather than   
   looking at them separately as often happens. When we do this, it is   
   clear to see that gender is, by far, most strongly linked to how well   
   others are understood. This finding highlights the complexity of social   
   life and reminds us to consider the various factors that may contribute   
   to understanding and getting on with someone."   
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Gender_Difference # Social_Psychology # Relationships #   
                   Multiple_Sclerosis # Psychology # Behavior # Perception   
                   # Racial_Issues   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Autism o Aptitude o Social_cognition o Social_psychology   
             o Mensa_International o Mirror_test o Psycholinguistics   
             o Education   
      
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   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Bath. Note: Content   
   may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Rachel A. Clutterbuck, Mitchell J. Callan, Punit   
      Shah. Socio-demographic   
         and political predictors of Theory of Mind in adulthood. PLOS ONE,   
         2023; 18 (5): e0284960 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284960   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524181809.htm   
      
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