From the workplace to your downtown grocery, people have always assumed that men and women are unequivocally different--polar opposites. But research suggests that there may be a common ground where psychological androgyny is linked with more significant cognitive flexibility.
Psychological androgyny has always been associated with better cognitive flexibility or a person's mental ability to shift and balance thoughts and tasks, mental health, and social competence.
Scientists have been trying to figure out how brain androgyny could affect the brain or exhibit neurological factors.
New research published in the journal Cerebral Cortex explains that brain androgyny exists and is more common than we think.
Psychological Androgyny
Most of us are familiar with the stereotypical traits of males and females.
Men are not encouraged by societal norms to express feelings, cry, or show signs of 'weakness. They are expected to be rational, assertive, and good at visuospatial challenges..'
On the other hand, women are expected to be more nurturing, emotional, and better with languages.
Psychological androgyny is associated with better mental health and is linked to higher creative power.
For decades, scientists have argued whether there are differences between the male and female brains. There are reports of differences in both brains, while some argue that the difference is minuscule and cannot be considered absolute.
A study in 2014 suggests that psychologically most are in a spectrum of what we stereotypically consider as female or male.
To test the theories, researchers used machine learning to create a brain continuum. While physically, the male and female brains are similar, the connections between different areas have shown to be different.
The study analyzed connectivity markers in 9,620 participants. And discovered that most were distributed throughout the spectrum rather than at different ends. In the sample, roughly 25% of brains identified as male, while 25% identified as female. The remaining 50% were distributed across the androgyny spectrum of the continuum.
The benefit of the psychological androgyny is higher levels of cognitive flexibility and employ a vast array of life strategies that are commonly restricted by societal norms.
Analysis of 78 studies shows that men who conform to masculine norms suffer more psychiatric symptoms such as depression and substance abuse than others. On the other hand, women who conformed to the stereotypical normal paid the price with career choices and less self-fulfillment.
An androgynous person, however, is not as restricted to gender norms as the aforementioned. But the study does not state that the findings are absolute; after all, the brain is flexible to a certain extent.
Researchers note that future studies must be conducted to determine how psychological androgyny and external factors influence a person's decisions and experiences throughout life.
Scientists hope to stress the importance of well-balanced opportunities, especially for children, to avoid extreme stereotypes that are proven to negatively impact a person's life.
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