Study shows women are better than men at giving directions
Ferry Online Travel News 24/05/2010
New study dispels old myth as women shown to beat men at providing directions.
The joke, almost as ancient as the hills (and the first paths running across them) goes like this: women are comically inept with maps and directions. A new study, however, appears to destroy that old stereotype. Scientists showed that women are not just better at giving directions than men are – they also give the problem much more consideration.
Researchers found women were both quantifiably and subjectively better than men at helping people find their way. The study observed 30 women and 30 men while they gave instructions at a petrol station. Scientists asked drivers a series of questions to check their level of local knowledge and discover the way to a local tourist attraction.
When asked to guess how far away the local attraction was, half of the women got exactly the right answer. In comparison, just a third of the men guessed correctly. Also, while trying to provide instructions on how to reach the local attraction, the women frequently devoted more thought to the issue. Twice the number of women paused “significantly” than did the men. The women often talked to themselves out loud whilst trying to develop the best instructions. One in four of the women gave the right directions. This was three per cent more than the men managed.
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