Bad news headlines regularly hit us hard.
Now, researchers have revealed that these news headlines apparently hit us women harder than men. Women remember the details of the story better and are reduced to tears easier.
Researchers showed the men and women newspaper reports on accidents and murders and the stories took a greater toll on the female psyche. One explanation was that women have evolved to become more empathetic than men and look out for situations that threaten them and their children.
Canadian researchers gave 56 men and women a selection of stories from Canada’s newspapers. Some were noted as being “emotionally neutral”, such as a report about a film premiere or the opening of a new building. Others were more neutral.
Samples of saliva were regularly taken throughout the experiment, to check for any changes in levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
University of Montreal researcher Marie-France Marin said: “Although the news stories alone did not increase stress levels they did make the women more reactive, affecting their physiological response to later stressful situations.
“Moreover, the women were able to remember more details of the negative stories.
“It is interesting to note that we did not observe this phenomenon among the male participants.”
“It has been suggested that women’s stress system is wired up to ensure not only their own survival but the one of their offspring as well.”
The study features in the journal PLOS ONE.
