Men evolved to be better at ‘making up’ after a fight

There are many theories as to why men have historically been more dominant in the workplace, and their ability to reconcile with adversaries after conflict has been added to the mix.

Scientists have long been aware that male chimpanzees have a notable ability to put aside differences after fighting, in order to unite against rival groups in struggles for territory.

A new study has looked into whether similar traits could be seen in humans, and used the behavior of men and women after sporting contests as evidence.

Researchers watched recordings of same-sex tennis, table tennis, badminton, and boxing encounters involving men and women from 44 countries. The significantly higher amount of touching that male contestants did after a fight, through handshakes and embraces  suggested they have greater “post-conflict affiliation”.

In some cases, women did little more than touch fingers, in as brief a ‘handshake’ as sporting etiquette would allow. “What you’ll see is that many times females brush their fingers against each other,” said lead author Professor Joyce Benenson from Emmanuel College and Harvard University.

Beneson continued, “You’re expected by the sport to do something but it’s so frosty. However, with the males even with a handshake you can see the warmth, the tightness of it. I expected this would be the least strong in boxing, because you try to kill the other person, but it’s the strongest in this sport, there really is this sense of love for your opponent which is beyond my understanding.”

Women reconcile better in family situations

The authors believe an evolutionary instinct triggers this behavior- like the chimps, humans reconcile so we can work together in future.

Benenson says her work demonstrates an “evolved sex difference that still operates today”.

She added: “It’s the idea that you can have a mechanism that allows you to go from that tremendous competition to beat others to being able to form groups and create human society. Really men have done that in business, in religion, in education and the military – they form these relationships where they are willing to die for each other in some cases.”

Women tend to be keener on physical contact, and are also able to reconcile after arguments in family situations as easily as men. Perhaps the difference can be explained because of the competition women feel in the workplace.

Professor Robert Deaner from Grand Valley State University, who wasn’t involved in the study, said:

“That men are more likely to reconcile after a conflict supports other studies showing that male-male relationships are generally different than female-female relationships. A woman’s relationship with another woman is often gravely damaged if one woman achieves greater status than the other or somehow outdoes her.”

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Image credit: Thinkstock

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