14 DAY TRIAL // A lot of women reproach men for being insensible and tell them they should be less 'barbaric'; perhaps they're right. But it seems that men have a completely different way of reacting to one's pain than women, especially when it comes to revenge.
According to a study carried out by the University College London, published in the journal Nature and cited by the Associated Press, men don't feel anything when a cheater gets an electric shock; on the contrary, they feel joy, while women are sensitive. Study co-author, Dr. Klaas Stephan, said that it's not yet known if the pleasure experienced by men when somebody get punished for crimes is related to a difference in the brain structure or if it's the consequence of evolution.
The researcher says that this discovery could explain why men have taken charge of punishing criminals and others who violate societal rules.
This doesn't mean that women don't want a criminal to be punished; it's just that the preferences of the gentle sex are more oriented toward psychological and financial pain, Malcolm Ritter of the AP writes.
The study involved 16 men and 16 women who participated in a game along with other persons, whom they were told they were other volunteers. In fact, they were actors, who either played fairly or cheated.
The researchers scanned the participants' brains when the actors received small electroshocks. If the electroshocks were administered to a person who played fairly, both men and females empathized with the actor and activity in the brain regions associated with pain was noticed.
For the cheaters, the women's brain still showed a response, while the men's showed no sign that would indicate their empathy with the player's pain. However, the researchers noticed brain activity in the regions associated with the feelings of reward.