Why do females reportedly score better in emotional intelligence tests than males? I don’t have any arguments to support the study, nor do I have anything new to add to it. Until today, I wasn’t even aware that one gender performs better in this category than the other. There is often debate that challenges research suggesting that women are more likely to exhibit certain traits due to societal and cultural conditioning. The argument is that hormones are regulated by environment, and human habitat is the culture they develop. Therefore, traits such as empathy and kindness are encouraged in women due to cultural influence.I have never been able to form a concrete opinion of myself on this matter due to conflicting facts and arguments.
During one of my regular visits to the park, my toddler threw a terrible tantrum. I can’t even recall the reason for it, since it was the 119th one for that day. She was inconsolable, and anything I said or did to try to calm her down only made things worse, pushing me to my wits’ end. A young girl who appeared to be around 5 years old was seated on a see-saw and seemed to be waiting for someone to play with her. However, no one came to join her. Meanwhile, I had to deal with my own crying toddler who was throwing a tantrum and quickly escalating into a full-blown meltdown. Despite the chaos, I managed to get my toddler to sit on a bench and remained calm throughout the ordeal. She came over to us and said, “It’s really difficult to handle small babies.” And stood there. I shifted my attention to her and noticed she appeared to be in grade school. However, I was taken aback by the assertive tone in which she delivered her one-liner. She really meant it , the sincerity in her voice and eyes were proof of that. Without giving me a chance to formulate a response in my mind, she continued speaking, “ I did not give this much trouble to my mum, but I am not sure if I remember it all.”
That was cute. I just laughed, and realized my child was no more screaming and the rosy cheeks were stained with tears that seemed to have halted halfway down. The little girl’s voice had probably caused some calming effect on my baby, or maybe she got distracted by her coming over and talking. I asked her general questions and re-assured her that the baby was fine and was just tired maybe. The girl looked at me , as if it meant that the concern from her was more for me than for the baby. Of course, she knew tha baby was fine now sipping water from her Peppa Pig printed yellow sipper, it was me who was doing all the labour. She had been observing the entire scene of calming the little screamer and dousing the flames of a meltdown, and she felt more concern for the caregiver than the child itself. It was clear from her statements.
It was a brief moment of awe. On my way back to home from the park I was wondering what made her say such a profound thing? How was she so empathetic at such a young age to understand a mothers helplessness towards her child’s emotional let-outs in a public place ? How did she know it was the child who was being difficult and it was not the other way round ? She even considered herself being more or less difficult with her own mother at one point.
The child could be a certain personality type, the ones who are quiet, observant and sometimes more mature for their age, since the girl was not known to me nor the family she came from, there could be ten or more reasons for her to have such emotional intelligence at such a young age.
While not making any sweeping generalisation of the notion, it can also be said that men could be equally or more compassionate.But there is no denying the fact that oxytocin, the peptide that binds the sexes, also divides them. The emotional sides of a person deals with the feelings that are mostly instinctive, and instincts cannot be taught but are inherent. However, the action part that is the nurturing can be seen as taught.
And that brings me to the question, that is it the culture and conditioning that makes females more tender and emotionally aware or is it a natural instinct that has more to do with the biology of a certain gender ? I leave it on the readers for an open debate, all comments and thoughts are welcome without engaging in any offensive remarks…..
