Posted on 08/07/2005 8:45:12 AM PDT by Loyalist
LONDON (AFP) - Men who are accused of never listening by women now have an excuse -- women's voices are more difficult for men to listen to than other men's, a report said.
The Daily Mail, quoting findings published in the specialist magazine NeuroImage, said researchers at Sheffield university in northern England discovered startling differences in the way the brain responds to male and female sounds.
Men deciphered female voices using the auditory part of the brain that processes music, while male voices engaged a simpler mechanism, it said.
The Mail quoted researcher Michael Hunter as saying, "The female voice is actually more complex than the male voice, due to differences in the size and shape of the vocal cords and larynx between men and women, and also due to women having greater natural 'melody' in their voices.
"This causes a more complex range of sound frequencies than in a male voice."
The findings may help explain why people suffering hallucinations usually hear male voices, the report added, as the brain may find it much harder to conjure up a false female voice accurately than a false male voice.
LOL
Most of the time they don`t want your opinion,they just want someone to unload on after their day,so they talk and talk.
The confusion occurrs when they become serious.Their delivery is similar or the same and so we fail to catch on right away ang get flack for not "hearing" them.
Damn fellas,I gotta be "on" all the time lest I get caught out.
And ladies,it`s exhausting being " on " all the time in a state of alert.
We just wanna lie on the sofa and watch fast cars going round and round in a circle.
I was on a National Guard rifle team; my hearing is damaged from 4Khz-7.5Khz; my wife and daughter say I never listen to them.
"The other thing is, when she asks me to select alternatives, generally there is only one right answer, and if I can't divine it, man, am I in trouble."
BINGO.
I`d have to refer you to a previous poster`s answer.Answer her question with a question," How do you feel about it " Use the word ' Feel ' because most women do just that,have feelings and emotions whereas we are just as dumb as a stump.
I pity us poor horn-dogs.
The hearing of a grandfather of a friend of mine "miraculously" returned soon after his non-stop pestering wife of 60+ years passed away (may she rest in peace).
Does that mean they screwed up the voice in the F-16?
According to Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, a man's inclination is to offer suggestions on how to correct the problem. The woman is looking for emotional expression and validation. So asking open ended questions to encourage her to talk about it and paraphrasing what she has said to let her know that you are listening and caring (all active listening techniques) would probably be the most appropriate response. Telling her what she should do could be received as a criticism.
I was trying to show SOME mercy.
Well, at least we can read.....
No, we simply tune them out instinctively because we know it's only another complaint or a nag.
Where can I get some of these research billions?
I have for years articulated the theory that women's voices are pitched so that men can easily tune them out, and that the purpose of being able to tune them out is to keep the nattering from driving you mad.
Now I got proof!
uh-huh
This article would explain why when I lower my voice a few octaves and raise it a few decibels that the men at my house and work pay attention, AYE?
You only thought you were tuning them out. It's the sound of the mythological sirens. (Oh, btw, I am a woman).
You mean maps and instuctions?
Second try
instructions
From an early age the voice which commands us to NOT do the things we would do...(Get out of that tree!/Quit jumping on the cat!/ LET GO of your sister's hair!, etc.) is our MOTHER's voice, at least a female sounding, musical voice until she gets hoarse from yelling at us...
The voice we had best better pay attention to is not the one of day-to-day admonition, but the dreaded, deeper voice we await when really in trouble...(JUST WAIT UNTIL YOUR FATHER GETS HOME!).
Even Mom's voice gets deeper when those dreaded words are spoken, (finally) commanding our attention.
Hours spent in lockdown (GO TO YOUR ROOM!) are spent anticipating the deep toned edicts which will decide our fate (for the remainder of the day/week/or until we can legally vote).
THAT, we are conditioned to listen to, not just because of the imminent corporal punishment (they still do that, don't they?), but because of the far-reaching consequences, (at least until we can weasel mom into a reprieve...).
For some of us, double jeopardy was a given, the hand that rocked the cradle would occasionally swat a butt, too. So we aren't completely deaf to a woman's voice...
Hmmm...when I lived in London back in the 70s, I often saw Muslim women with metal-like face coverings. But I have no idea what they are called. I haven't seen one of those awful things in years...I thought I had dreamed them up!!
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