Why We Fight: Men Check out in Stressful Situations, While Women Show Increased Brain Coordination When Looking at Angry Faces
One of the most common complaints women have about their male partners is: "Every time I get upset at him he just shuts down and withdraws. He stops hearing anything I have to say."
The study indicates that stressed men looking at angry faces had diminished activity in the brain regions responsible for understanding others' feelings. In other words, when men experience acute stress, such as an argument, they have less ability to read the other person's facial expression and respond in an empathic way.
The study also demonstrated that women actually have the opposite response: under stress women have an increased ability to interpret another person's experience; in other words, to have empathy and understanding.
So if a man and a woman get into an argument, men tend to withdraw, lose
the ability to feel for the other person.
If two women get into an argument, they move forward into the relationship,
with increased empathy and the desire for social support.
If two men argue, the outlook doesn't look good - until the stress level goes down, they are likely going to have a difficult time resolving things relationally.
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