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Being female and educated are the most important factors when it comes to being able to understand or read other people’s minds, a new study suggests.
For their study, psychologists at the University of Bath looked at qualities associated with understanding others, such as kindness, picking up on subtle cues and self-reflection.
In psychology, this is known as “theory of mind,” the ability to understand other people by attributing mental states to them.
Psychologists say their findings may be “socially important,” may help break down some artificially constructed barriers and improve understanding between people.
In a world where it seems increasingly difficult to hold and express different points of view, it is crucial that we understand the barriers to connecting with others.
Dr Punit Shah, University of Bath
The results, based on an analysis of 4,000 people, represent averages, but they argue that the study is an important reminder about the drivers of agreement and disagreement in public life.
The main author Dr. Punit Shah, Associate Professor and leading expert in social cognitive processing at the University of Bath, explains: “In a world where it seems increasingly difficult to hold and express different points of view, it is crucial that we understand the barriers to connecting with others.
“Political views are often thought of as a barrier, but our research shows that a person’s politics are not, in fact, tied to how others perceive them.
“Importantly, we didn’t just find an absence of evidence of a political link in the study.
“The analyzes also provided evidence for the absence of this link.
“This is a socially important finding that could help break down some artificially constructed barriers between people and ultimately improve understanding between different people in our society.”
He added: “Historically, male perspectives have been prioritized in society.
The reasons why some people understand others better are not well understood, but this research offers insight into some individual differences, such as gender, that may help explain these social differences.
Dr Rachel Clutterbuck, Principal Investigator
“We are, of course, seeing this narrative diminish over time, and research like ours adds further evidence to highlight the important role of education and being a woman for understanding and social cohesion in society, far more than politics”.
To conduct the study, researchers asked members of the public to provide details about their background, as well as to rate their political beliefs (ranging from 1 = very liberal, to 7 = very conservative) .
In addition, they used a mind-reading test to test how well people understood what others were thinking.
Developed by the same team in 2021, the test asks a series of statements, such as “I can generally understand another person’s point of view, even if it is different from my own,” and “I find it easy to put put me in someone else’s shoes.” .
Lead researcher Dr Rachel Clutterbuck stressed that these findings could improve our understanding of social differences between people.
He said: “The reasons why some people understand others better are not well understood, but this research provides insight into some individual differences, such as gender, which may help explain these social differences.”
The findings are published in the journal Plos One.
