The Difference Between Men and Women

    Men and women are different. The age-old question is whether that is due to nurture or nature. If I have learned anything while studying child development these past few years, it is that it is due to both nature and nurture. Our temperament, experiences, and environment all influence who a child becomes when they are full-fledged adults. While parents typically have a significant influence, their children are not simply clay that they can mold into whatever they desire. B.F. Skinner was a behaviorist psychologist who stated that he could make anything out of any child that he was given. Is that really true? If so, why can siblings become so different from one another?

    My sister and I are completely opposite of each other. I am not a fan of anime or the popular game, Dungeons and Dragons, my sister loves both of these things. I love blue, she loves pink. Furthermore, I am a peacemaker, she is firm in her opinions. We are different in the same ways that men and women are different. We were born with our own individual temperaments. Although we were raised in the same household, we had different experiences and viewed those experiences in ways that were separate from each other. I really noticed the difference when we moved from Idaho to Utah. My friends in Utah had similar beliefs and interests as my friends in Idaho. My sister's friends in Utah could not be more different than her friends in Idaho. I observed how my friends influenced me and how my sister's friends influenced her. When you look at our friends you will clearly see how we are sisters who seem like strangers at a glance.

    In terms of gender, it is similar to how those differences come to be. Some argue that there is little or no real difference between men and women. From the womb, the fetus is already developing in ways that are congruent to their gender. They have different levels of each type of hormone. When a girl is born she displays more signs of language development than a boy. She moves her mouth more. Girls speak around 13,000 more words than men each day. This is likely due to their innate interest in relationships. Women are more relationship-oriented than men. They view the world in terms of relationships. If a woman is thinking about one thing, she is likely linking that one thing to many other things that correlate with it. Men think in a much more categorical fashion. They think of one thing and one thing only, or at least things that are directly connected with that thing. This allows men to be hyper-focused on a specific task or subject.

    If you women are like me, you wonder why men seem to never notice what is around them, or why they think differently than you in general. This is your answer. Men put their thoughts into boxes that do not touch other boxes. Women's thoughts are connected to multiple other thoughts. This is due to more white matter or myelination in the brain. This fatty substance called myelination allows the neurons in our brains to connect with other neurons quickly. It speeds up the process. This is why going on a low-fat diet is not always the best idea. We should get a good amount of healthy fats from foods such as avocados, olive oil, and nuts and drink plenty of water. It will fuel our crazy women brains. Seeing the difference in how men and women think can help us to have more patience with the opposite gender when they simply don't see what we see. We were made that way for a reason.