Men vs. Women

Continuing the discussion that my psychology textbook started…

In high school I took AP Psych and I read that ENTIRE 738+ whatever Myers textbook. I had to read it every single day. And 10 pages took like an hour to read because it was so dense…I took a lot of notes. But it paid off, because I was at the top of the class, and got a 5 on the AP exam. And, not only did that have its own benefits (like not having to take psych in university and getting ahead then in credits, pre-med requirements, money, and time, etc) but it was actually very interesting. The class, and reading this textbook. A lot of it made me think. A lot of it I enjoyed thinking about, and still think about to this day (and this class was like 2 years ago at this point). So I will draw on this psych, and my own thoughts and questions.

Since I have now written the “I can’t do it no more” blog post, where I complained a lot, this topic seems very next-in-line.

I wanted to do a little bit of comparison between men and women, just whatever comes to mind.

Stores/shopping:

I have heard that men don’t like shopping or malls or stores as much, because they just want to get in and get something, while women enjoy the actual experience. I wish someone could confirm or deny this. For me, I like to look at options before I buy something, and not just buy whatever comes first. I think it is part of being a perfectionist. But also, purely psychologically, it’s just…being a smart buyer. First looking at all your options so you don’t end up getting someone you a.) don’t actually want b.) won’t actually use c.) end up not wanting d.) regretting buying e.) end up seeing something that was actually BETTER.. and that f.) you want more g.) you also just save money and h.) don’t have to deal with returns (which personally I hate dealing with). But now I’m wondering if it ties into any of this store men vs. Women stuff either…like is that just “woman” behavior, to be more thorough with options before buying? Or that just purely person to person, and personality? But what about in general?

I can definitely still think of men, who are still more “careful” buyers, and I instantly just think of and attribute it to the fact that I know them as thorough and careful people, and probably experienced people/buyers (or just psychologically, if you rush something too many times…perhaps you’ll learn…and so oftentimes these people will be older, though the older generation might have been catching on too, and quicker, since they grew up in materialism and commercialism) so that makes me think it can also be this type of effect: a.) a person-to person b.) personality c.) age d.) experience.

To add in to the stores discussion, what about, overstimulation? Stores, materialism, and commercialism, in my opinion, in general, is VERY overstimulating. I definitely don’t think that’s a crazy take, or one that most people would disagree with.

So perhaps the different store experiences/habits have to do with how both respond to overstimulation?

Logically, then, if women, on average, stay longer in stores, then they are more prone to overcoming this “overstimulation”? Well then, that just makes me think about the fact that women have a higher pain tolerance? Because that’s just a psychological fact. I think it evolutionarily has to be that way, since women are the ones giving birth (or even how periods can give some girls painful cramps).

Emotional? The stereotype is that women are more emotional than men, but I BEG TO DIFFER. I don’t think I’m that emotional, I’ve been told this by men and women alike as well, and I’ve met plenty of emotional men, men that are way more emotional than me, and I think it’s just their personality. Maybe it’s just the day and age, the generation, or the culture, but so I don’t know what that means…if this means that this is getting turned around, or just that it can, as in, has the potential to be that way, and in this case, was. Or, like the consideration with any of these things, is it just a personal thing? Maybe it’s just me. Or maybe, women are more emotional because of physical hormones, and I just fight with this emotional-ity? But that doesn’t really make sense to me, that I don’t feel like I’m battling something, or that you can even battle something innate like that. So that leads me to think it really does depend a lot on personal factors. I guess, a lot of this is…nature vs nurture? And in that case, it probably is nature to an extent just an extent I don’t know…but it sounds like the conclusion is that it’s also a lot nurture. Well, can be, outside factors. That would make sense for the emotional men. But as far as that just being a part of who you are…that actually just sounds like all nature anyway. If I am just the way I am. Which is interesting, then, because the hormones themselves are also nature, but in a different way. How much is “just the way you are” “just the person you are” innate and genetic? Yet since it is a part of you…who you are…you can’t say it’s not nature, can you? Because this is just who I am. Couldn’t change it. I guess you can change to be more emotional…but who wants that? Certainly not me.

The last comparison that I have on my list is overthinking. This one can definitely be “just who you are” which I guess is nature, but not in the same way “hormones” would be nature. And this difference is getting really confusing, so I’m glad this is the last point where I have to try to clarify the difference between the two.