Who's More Sensitive at Reading Body Language, Men or Women?

I have, and you win the argument. Usually, women are more sensitive to body language. A series of tests designed to reveal a profile of nonverbal sensitivity (PONS) has been developed by a team of five psychologists at Harvard University. The person taking the tests is presented with a film of a series of scenes emphasizing facial expressions with only a few spoken phrases that are never clearly heard—it’s like turning the sound off on a TV soap opera.

After viewing each scene, the person taking the test chooses a situational label from two possibilities. A typical scene will show a woman’s face for a few seconds. She appears upset and she’s saying something, but you can’t quite understand her words.

The testee must choose between “jealous anger” or “talking about her divorce.” Only one is correct. The idea is to see who does well, and who does poorly in recognizing the true message behind the nonverbal or body language signals.

According to the test, women are better at this game than men. Out of ninety-eight sample groups in which two or more men and women participated, the women scored higher in eighty-one groups.

The investigators suggest that the difference in perception between men and women becomes less, and even reverses itself—the men coming out ahead—when the men tested have occupations considered “artistic, expressive, or nurturant.” Men who were actors, artists, designers, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, college students in visual courses, and schoolteachers tended to score as high or
higher than women.

This would indicate that the ability to excel at body language is—as is body language itself—hooked to the culture. The culture demands more sensitivity from women, and they live up to the demands and become more sensitive. It also demands more sensitivity from this group of men, and they too meet the demands. In the final analysis, the more sensitive you are, the better you are at reading body language.

So, in fuller answer to your question, it is not being a man or a woman that makes one a better body language reader. You gain the skill by playing the role demanded of women in this society.