Do Women See More Than Men?

[KPereira]

Women have a different way of looking at things, just as men do. Think of a lovely work of art. A woman will look at it and say 'Oooh, look at the colours, the brushstrokes, the sfumato effect is absolutely enchanting.' Men will probably say 'That's a nice picture of a horse.'

The point is that women pay a lot more attention to detail while men tend to care only about the picture itself. I once came home one day and my sister starts hinting at me that something is different about her. So, I ask her 'Well...you don't look any different. What did you do?' 'I DYED MY HAIR!'. Honest to God, it looked exactly the same to me. My mom comes home. 'Oh Allison, nice hair!'. Hahahaha, I'm wondering to myself how the hell did she notice that?

You can see a difference with the way men and women take care of themselves. Women tend to lean towards subtle detail. Lip stick, mascara, eye paint, lip gloss...all that crap they put on, too much to list here. They don't look a whole lot different after putting on make up...but you can still notice a bit of a difference. They do look better.

Men, however, tend to go for more obvious changes. Working out, haircut, new clothes, a beard or moustache, etc. The change is so obvious, you would be a fool to miss it.

Without women, men would see the main part of the picture, but miss the details that make the picture. Without men, women would see the details, but miss the main point of the picture. But together, both can see the whole picture.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

They don't look a whole lot different after putting on make up...but you can still notice a bit of a difference. They do look better.

That would depend on the amount of makeup used.

Men, however, tend to go for more obvious changes. Working out, haircut, new clothes, a beard or moustache, etc. The change is so obvious, you would be a fool to miss it.

Some of the changes you mentioned can be more subtle than makeup on women.

Without women, men would see the main part of the picture, but miss the details that make the picture. Without men, women would see the details, but miss the main point of the picture. But together, both can see the whole picture.

This I disagree with, as I mentioned in my previous post, paying attention to small details, or just the whole picture, has more to do with society conditioning than it does gender. Its the norm that to be manly, you see only the large picture. Women, being the caretakers and nurturers, are expected to notice the small details to better fulfill thier roles.

 

[KPereira]

This I disagree with, as I mentioned in my previous post, paying attention to small details, or just the whole picture, has more to do with society conditioning than it does gender. Its the norm that to be manly, you see only the large picture. Women, being the caretakers and nurturers, are expected to notice the small details to better fulfill thier roles.

Well what about those 'metrosexuals' with their more...feminine tendencies? They are not really trying to be manly, yet you can tell that they pay more attention to detail when they try to get into a thought process more similar to that of a woman.

 

[Random]

Well what about those 'metrosexuals' with their more...feminine tendencies? They are not really trying to be manly, yet you can tell that they pay more attention to detail when they try to get into a thought process more similar to that of a woman.

Metrosexuals, hmm? Well, the most prominent one, David Beckham, is totally ruled by his wife Victoria (POSH) and it's said he's not the brightest yet she is very smart, so I reckon we have proof of @ least one instance where a woman sees more than a man.

 

[KPereira]

True enough lol

 

[logician]

"have a different way of looking at things, just as men do. Think of a lovely work of art. A woman will look at it and say 'Oooh, look at the colours, the brushstrokes, the sfumato effect is absolutely enchanting.' Men will probably say 'That's a nice picture of a horse.'

Considering that most of the world's great artists have been MEN, this is quite a strange post.

 

[Neale]

Yes - they can.

I say my couch is "orange," my girlfriend swears it's "medium tangerine."

 

[logician]

"Without women, men would see the main part of the picture, but miss the details that make the picture. Without men, women would see the details, but miss the main point of the picture. But together, both can see the whole picture."

Very stereotypical and certainly not true, I work in a profession where everyone must pay attention to detail, and women are no better than men at it.

 

[JerryL]

I say my couch is "orange," my girlfriend swears it's "medium tangerine."

How you can see if the person on the other end of the IM is a man or a women (though the gay people I know read backwards here).

Chocolate, Salmon, and Moose are
1) Colors
2) Foods

 

[standing_on_one_foot]

Well, you'd have to look at humans with abnormal hormonal levels and their ability to see, wouldn't you? Or even normal variations over a lifetime. Do women who've gone through menopause "see" the same as women who have not?

It would be an interesting study, I should think. Personally, I doubt hormones change perspective and viewpoints that much, on the basis of what I have observed with people who've been on both male and female hormones, although I must admit I've never asked them anything so specific.

 

[chlotilde]

If you've ever seen the comedy show "In Defense of the Caveman", it'd all make sense.

Men are hunters, woman gatherers. Men are "trained" to sit for long periods of time staring out at the same scenery, looking for the slightest movement to indicate prey, hence, if it doesn't move, a man will never see it (that's why a man can never find anything in the house, even if it is sitting in front of him). Woman on the other hand, can spot one tiny red berry hanging on a bush at 100 yards.

 

[michel]

Well, you'd have to look at humans with abnormal hormonal levels and their ability to see, wouldn't you? Or even normal variations over a lifetime. Do women who've gone through menopause "see" the same as women who have not?

It would be an interesting study, I should think. Personally, I doubt hormones change perspective and viewpoints that much, on the basis of what I have observed with people who've been on both male and female hormones, although I must admit I've never asked them anything so specific.

I tend to agree; women will naturally "Focus" on different characteristics of what they see that we men will (as a general rule) - there are , of course, plenty who don't fit into that mould :- I think it would be interesting to do a study on the Male/Female minds, and incorporate those results into what is perceived.

 

[logician]

"Men are "trained" to sit for long periods of time staring out at the same scenery"

Uh, maybe back in the stone age, I think these kind of differences between genders have melted away in th 21st century.

 

[KPereira]

"Without women, men would see the main part of the picture, but miss the details that make the picture. Without men, women would see the details, but miss the main point of the picture. But together, both can see the whole picture."

Very stereotypical and certainly not true, I work in a profession where everyone must pay attention to detail, and women are no better than men at it.

Yes, it is stereotypical...but then again, we are talking about women in general and men in general. I can't speak for every man. Therefore, one is only left to make generalizations based on the majority.

In your profession, sure, everyone must pay attention to detail...but women as a whole are better at it. Ask me to describe something and I'll do it as concisely as possible...I won't get into too many details. I would really need to think hard for that. But for a woman...all the details woudl come naturally.

On top of it...there are women who think more like men and men who think more like women. Those would be people in between. How do we categorize those? Is it really fair to ask the question 'Do women see more than men?' without going into stereotypes and not taking into consideration those who may have more feminine or masculine qualities. Take a tomboy, for example. A tomboy is a woman who acts like a man...they just seem really masculine for a woman. Their perspective would be different and couldn't be categorized with 'women'.

You see, it is difficult to make generalizations that cover most groups.

 

[KPereira]

"Men are "trained" to sit for long periods of time staring out at the same scenery"

Uh, maybe back in the stone age, I think these kind of differences between genders have melted away in th 21st century.

This I agree with. Things were different from back in the day. Today, you see more homosexuals, metrosexuals, tomboys, crossdressers, transvestites, etc...than you saw maybe 200 years ago. Society has changed to become more tolerant of these groups and so they can 'practice' without worry of being stoned to death (although they might still in some parts of the world). It is no longer 'man' or 'woman'. Now you have more men that think like women and more women that think like men. Everything is being amalgamated.

 

[logician]

"but women as a whole are better at it"

Really, then why are the vast majority of jeopardy winners men?

 

[KPereira]

"but women as a whole are better at it"

Really, then why are the vast majority of jeopardy winners men?

Answering questions has nothing to do with detail. You either know the answer or you don't.

 

[logician]

"Answering questions has nothing to do with detail"

Jeopardy has everything to do with paying attention to detail, in many subjects.

 

[Cynic]

Do women inherently see more than men?

Consider that hormones not only influence how we feel (our mood), but also influence how we see things (our perspective). That is, hormones operate much like alcohol. Alcohol not only changes our mood, but also our perspective on things.

Further consider that a woman's hormonal mix changes about four or five times over the course of her monthly cycle. In each change, a different hormone dominates. So, in effect, a woman naturally has four or five perspectives offered to her during each monthly cycle. But a man's hormonal mix stays more or less the same through out the month, and consequently, he has only one perspective offered to him.

It therefore might well be the case that women inherently find it easier to look at things in more than one way than men. Conversely, men might inherently be somewhat more narrow in their view of things than women.

If so, this could help explain one psychologist's finding that women relate better to stories than to principles, while men relate better to principles than to stories. That is, if you want to tell a woman "thou shall not steal" you tell her a story about someone who stole something and had bad things happen to them as a consequence. But if you want to tell a man "thou shall not steal" you state it as a principle, a rule, a law. But stories, for the most part, are usually more comprehensive, nuanced and detailed than rules. Stories present a fuller picture of events and consequences. And a story can present more than one perspective, while rules, principles and laws only give you one perspective on a thing.

So, do women inherently see more than men?

Do they inherently tend to take into account the fuller picture?

Are they more nuanced in their understanding of people and events?

Are men more focused than women?

Are men better able to get to the gist or essential point than women?

Whatever does not get used, gets pruned. Those nuerons that aren't constantly stimulated, get recruited for other things. The brain is never in a fixed state but is always re-wiring itself from the day you are conceived. I believe it has to do with what is being stimulated rather than it being wholly gender determined. Most women do different things than men and vice versa. Although much seems determined by gender and genetics, society and the roles they emplace upon the genders also has a strong effect on brain development. I think many of these things depend more on the indivual and their path of brain development, and not soley on gender. Everyone learns differently; some better visually than others, some better aurally then others, some better through metaphor rather than literal.

I specifically relate more to stories than to principles, pay more attention to context rather than detail, and read most body language and social situations intuitively. But, I am also very right-brained.

Are women better at seeing the whole picture? Yes, and literally. Women have better peripheral vision then men do. But considering the evolutionary roles of both men and woman, it's not hard to understand why.

It's hard to suggest that any of these questions can be answered with absolute certainty, because scientists still know very little about the brain and are even finding recent theoretical conceptions to be misconceptions all along. Simply put, humanity still knows very little about the brain.

 

[chlotilde]

Uh, maybe back in the stone age, I think these kind of differences between genders have melted away in th 21st century.

Yes, I put "trained" in quotes cuz my mind was blank at the moment and I couldn't think of a good word. Adept is probably a better word.

If the OP wants to point to something they think is innate to a sex, they have to go back in time to show this difference has existed for all time. The cavemen seemed like a good starting point.