Men Talk More than Women

Women may be called the chattier sex, but research shows that men may actually be a little more talkative—though it all depends on the situation.

Women may be called the chattier sex, but research shows that men may actually be a little more talkative—though it all depends on the situation. The University of California, Santa Cruz, conducted a review of research on the topic from the 1960s till today. The studies looked at garrulity and different types of speech under a range of social situations. It also compared mixed-gender and same-gender conversations. Researchers analysing these studies concluded that the type of activity people were engaged in influenced how much they talked. While, on an average, men were found to be only slightly more talkative, there were much larger differences when one looked at particular situations. During decision-making tasks, men talked more than women, but when talking about themselves or working with children, women were more talkative. These differences could have to do with differences in gender socialisation: typically, women are socialised to be more comfortable talking about their feelings, while men are socialised to be dominant and take charge. Talkativeness was also influenced by whether a person was talking to someone of the same gender or the opposite gender. And in mixed gender settings, men tend to be more talkative than women.