Men’s sharper sixth sense makes a myth of female intuition

FEMALE intuition is myth, a survey in Britain has found.

Previous scientific research found evidence that women were more in touch with their intuitive sides than men. However, the results of a new experiment suggest this is not the case.

An online test asking people to identify real smiles from fake ones in a series of photos found more men than women could spot the genuine expression. This is despite many more female than male participants classing themselves as intuitive.

Professor Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University, who led the study, said: “These findings question the notion that women really are more intuitive than men. Some previous research has found evidence for female intuition, but perhaps over time men have become more in touch with their intuitive side.”

More than 15,000 people took part in the experiment, called Sixth Sense. It was launched as part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival and was led by scientists at the University of Edinburgh and psychologist and best-selling author Prof Wiseman.

As well as looking at photos of people smiling, participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on intuition, allowing researchers to examine the types of people who are particularly good at recognising emotion in others. The study found that women rated themselves as considerably more intuitive than men, with 77% of women classing themselves as highly intuitive versus just 58% of men.

However, men spotted 72% of the genuine smiles and women detected 71% of them.

The experiment revealed men were better at spotting fake smiles among the opposite sex, correctly detecting 76% of the women’s false smiles, while women detected 67% of the men’s.

Prof Wiseman said: “We have amassed a huge amount of information, and initial analyses from the festival events have already yielded some fascinating findings.

“Interestingly, one of the pairs of photographs was judged very differently by men and women, with 82% of men detecting the fake smile versus just 64% of women - it is hoped that additional analyses will help discover what is so unusual about this image.”

Organisers of the experiment said that a genuine smile involved the muscles around the eyes, whereas a fake smile only involved the mouth.

Previous studies have shown that most 10-month-old babies produce a fake smile when approached by a stranger, but a genuine smile when approached by their mothers. The Edinburgh International Science Festival, which saw more than 100 events take place in the Scottish capital, ran from April 1-10.

People can still test their intuition at www.sciencefestival.co.uk.