More evidence of Female Superiority

Women are better friends than men, research shows
Contrary to what some people may think, it is women, not men, who are more likely to form long-lasting friendships. Sociologists from the Research Centre for Socio-Cultural Change at the University of Manchester conducted a study over a four-year period, and their findings suggest that men, on the one hand, are more fickle and calculating about who they should be friends with, while women, on the other hand, are steadfast in their approach to friendships: they support their friends not only during the good times, but also during the bad times.

Dr Gindo Tampubolon, of the Centre for Socio-Cultural Change, said the findings also suggest that women typically socialise with women, and men with men. Data shows that 75% of best friends are with people from our own gender. "Friendship between women seems to be fundamentally different to friendship between men," explained Dr Tampubolon. "It's much deeper and more moral: it's about the relationship itself rather than what they can get out of it."According to the researcher, whether women friends live in the same city or are kilometres apart makes no difference. "Women tend to keep their friends through thick and thin across geography and social mobility," he said. The bottom line is that women see friendship as a means to "express themselves and form their identity," while men look at relationships in a self-seeking way, as in "what's in it for me," he said. The study also supports the view that men are likely to base their friendship on social drinking. There is a tendency for middle class people to socialise with people from different social circles, while working class individuals typically form relationships with their own kind, the data shows.Dr Tampubolon said, "The findings reflect our view that friendship is not a choice. We have contact with friends, family, neighbourhood and work which we are or are not able to turn into friendships." While middle class people are capable of expanding their friendships to comprise family and work, there are restrictions on working class people. "They are likely to form a best friend with another working class person," he explained.For Professor of Sociology Mike Savage, the findings "draw upon a tradition of inquiry known as Social Network Analysis (SNA), developed by Professor John Barnes who was based here at the Victoria University of Manchester in 1952-1953. SNA is able to analyse social structures using a series of algorithms and we wanted to explore its application in this area and others."


Women do better than men on timed tests
NASHVILLE, Sept 5 (UPI) -- U.S. research into the differences between male and female brains suggests women perform better than men on timed tests because they think faster.
In a study involving more than 8,000 U.S. males and females ranging in age from 2 to 90, Vanderbilt University researchers Stephen Camarata and Richard Woodcock discovered females have a significant advantage on timed tests and tasks -- especially among pre-teens and teens.
"We found very minor differences in overall intelligence, but if you look at the ability of someone to perform well in a timed situation, females have a big advantage," Camarata said. "It is very important for teachers to understand this difference in males and females when it comes to assigning work and structuring tests.
"To truly understand a person's overall ability, it is important to also look at performance in un-timed situations," he added. "For males, this means presenting them with material that is challenging and interesting, but (which is) presented in smaller chunks without strict time limits."
The research was published in the May-June issue of the journal Intelligence.