Male and Female Psychology

Introduction

1. By all accounts, females are adept at using their left and right brain hemispheres simultaneously, in combined fashion, so that they are experts at considering a problem from a multilateral perspective, including implications on personal safety and security; this sets them apart from the males, whose thinking tends to be focused on and restricted to one topic at a given moment.

2. Furthermore, from daily experience with female family members, one is apt to be curious on why, in certain family-like situations outside the place of work, females are liable to change their mood without warning in the presence of males. Sometimes in a fit of hysteria or panic, they may depart from logical thinking without forewarning and start to address people in a selfish and domineering manner, and then calm down suddenly without explanation.

3. In discussing female psychology, one must be able to explain the following:

(1) How female behavior comes to be heavily influenced by the motherly instinct, with focus on reproduction, rearing children and raising a family.

(2) Why do females tend to be talkative and show better aptitude over males in the use of languages?

(3) What is the significance of activities preferred by females, such as traveling for pleasure and gastronomy, cooking and eating, wearing gold, silver and precious stones, looking at mirrors?

4. Although the concepts of male and female are often treated as if gender differences could be recognized without ambiguity, it must be admitted that the scope of diversity is great, so that some men may think and behave in ways “characteristic” of women and vice versa, with varying degrees of similarity.

5. One must also point out that, since this writer happens to be male, there are obvious limits and constraints when trying to understand the spiritual makeup in the opposite sex.

Thus, this is educated guesswork in the primitive stages and may provoke different female reactions, causing them to adjust their behavior toward the writer, depending on their opinion. This in turn will influence how the writer understands them, thus creating an indefinitely continuing loop or algorithm. This means, comments are most welcome.

I. Hypothesis

1. Assumptions

(1) Analyses based on MRI images of male and female brains have led to the conclusion that, while males tend to use one hemisphere at a time, females are inclined to use both hemispheres together. This is because while, in male brains, activated neurons fire within 1 brain hemisphere at a time, in female brains, neurons tend to fire back and forth between the left and the right hemispheres, in zigzag fashion.
Females must use the 2 hemispheres of their brains as an integral unit, and this leads to quick thinking on an issue from different angles and perspectives, including personal safety and security in the presence of males.

(2) We shall assume that every individual of both sexes is endowed with 2 spiritual entities, the conscious and the subconscious, terms initially proposed by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis. The subconscious originally referred to repressed feelings, based largely on traumatic childhood memories, but here, the same word is used to describe a silent spiritual entity with an active and all-encompassing influence on bodily functions and emotions.

(3) Furthermore, because the male and female consciousness seem quite different and tend to be reversed, we shall introduce “Animus” and “Anima,” concepts used by Carl Jung to describe the spiritual entities in males and females that uphold values normally associated with the opposite sex, and fit them into Freud’s dual conception of consciousness, as follows:

Consciousness Subconscious
(Male) Animus Anima
(Female) Anima Animus

2. Male Mechanism

In typical males, unless the individual is engaged in work or tasks involving manipulation of the voluntary muscles, inclusive of sport and physical exercise, so that the Animus is actively using both brain hemispheres, communication between the 2 hemispheres tends to be inefficient. This is because, in an immobile situation, the Animus is apt to concentrate on using only one of these hemispheres; the Anima will access whichever half of the brain is unoccupied by the Animus and try to keep that side of the brain for itself. In fact, the Anima may even extend itself into the corpus callosum and establish its presence there.
As a result, the presence of the Anima becomes a barrier that has to be dislodged each time the Animus wants to transfer itself laterally, to access the opposite hemisphere.
In simple notation, the situation can be expressed as either (Animus, Anima) or (Anima, Animus) in the case of males. The first bracket shows the Animus in the left and the Anima in the right hemisphere; in the second bracket, the allocation is reversed.

(1) If the Animus is using the left hemisphere (L), the Anima will extend its network into the opposite, right hemisphere (R); when the Animus tries to shift from L to R, the Anima ‘s presence in R will block lateral movement. The situation will be worse if the Anima has the corpus callosum under control.

(2) As the Animus persistently tries to shift itself from L to R, the Anima will be resigned to withdrawing its “tentacles” from R into the diencephalon where it is based and then, at long last, the Animus will be able to access R. Consequently, L becomes vacant, so the Anima transfers its locus laterally across the diencephalon to extend its network into L.

(3) Thus, there exists a circuit consisting of the left hemisphere, the corpus callosum, the right hemisphere, the diencephalon, and back to the left hemisphere that the Anima uses for swapping hemispheres without being detected by the Animus.
Because the Animus cannot enter the diencephalon, the Animus switches its locus to and from, clockwise and counter, to access the 2 hemispheres in alternating fashion across the corpus callosum, while the Anima uses this circuit, inclusive of the diencephalon, to access the hemisphere vacated by the Animus.

(4) A primary motivation for the Anima to access the brain hemisphere not in immediate use by the Animus may be, to get an early glimpse of the world outside, by accessing visual information gathered within that hemisphere.

(5) During the waking hours, the Anima is driven to work according to the dictates of the Animus, because the Animus controls voluntary muscle movement and the Anima is responsible for maintaining a constant bodily equilibrium or homeostasis.

(6) The Anima, sick and tired of serfdom, may try to apply the brakes and reverse the mechanism.
As a first step, the Anima may to try to discourage work and activities including sport and physical exercise that require voluntary muscle movement on both the left and right sides of the body, so that the Animus will vacate either hemisphere for use and exploitation by the Anima.
The next step should be to drive the Animus completely out, and this will happen during sleep. This means, it is in the Anima’s interest for the person to fall asleep, and then it may indulge in the creation of dreams.

Cf. The Anima may be considered as the author and producer of dreams, and since they occur during sleep, the Anima is able to use the 2 cerebral hemispheres together without hindrance, because the Animus’s presence is kept to a minimum. This must be the reason why dreams tend to be flamboyant and nonsensical, as memories stored in both hemispheres of the brain are mobilized at random, to create stories without any logical sequence or foundation.

3. Female Mechanism

(1) Females tend to show better aptitude than males for language skills including conversation and communication because they can use the two brain hemispheres together when speaking out.
Females are generally considered to be endowed with a larger corpus callosum than males, and this could be the reason for better communication between the 2 halves of the brain.

(2) Meanwhile, the female subconscious (Animus) must have a stronger influence than the male subconscious (Anima) over bodily functioning because of the biological role and responsibility of females over life processes of reproduction including courtship and mating, conceiving, giving birth and rearing children.

(3) Females are also known to be prone to sudden changes in mood that takes males by surprise, and the following possibilities may be considered.

(Better Connections)

The conscious mind, Anima switches brain hemispheres at will during speech, so that the content will differ greatly, depending on whether the left or right hemisphere is being used. This tends to leave an impression of capriciousness from the male viewpoint, as the male consciousness, Animus, is less likely to switch hemispheres during speech.
If this is the case, it is the female consciousness or Anima that consistently delivers speech, using both brain hemispheres in integrated fashion, and there is nothing more to add except for the fact that the female brain simply functions better as a single unit compared to the male brain.

(Alternating Voices Mechanism)

However, given the tendency of females to be sympathetic to those suffering from hearing voices and schizophrenia, a case could be made that, female speech must constantly be subject to interference by the subconscious mind and, hence, females tend to be aware of the duality of consciousness and the presence of the subconscious mind even without a formal education on such matters.
This is to say, the subconscious mind, Animus, makes an overt verbal or rhetorical appearance to replace the Anima as main speaker from time to time, to address people at will and without forewarning, and this results in a sudden change of mood.
In fact, the Animus is more likely to come out and address others verbally in the presence of males, especially if there is a possible courtship situation or a threat to physical security.
No one will suspect that the speaker changes from time to time, and there are 2 possibilities for such a scenario.

(a) The Anima and Animus mutually refrain from trespassing into either brain hemisphere while their counterpart is holding the microphone, and do not get in each other’s way.
The situation is then either (Anima, Anima) or (Animus, Animus), so that the spiritual entity that happens to be involved in language activity has monopoly use of both hemispheres.
When the Animus is speaking, the Anima becomes a quiet existence, giving the Animus full powers to represent the individual in speech; the Anima will refrain from or will be prevented from throwing its voice and keep out of the way while the Animus holds the microphone.
In this case, the Animus will move about freely between the 2 brain hemispheres via either the diencephalon or the corpus callosum, or both, so that the 2 hemispheres can be used as a single and efficient unit, without interference from the Anima. Thus, there will be no “musical chairs” situation over the left language areas as in males.
When the Animus holds the microphone, it can efficiently retrieve memories stored in either of the brain hemispheres and use the information when speaking out.

(b) The Anima and Animus constantly occupy different hemispheres as in males, but speak out at will from that temporary locus, using the lateral language areas, resulting in an interplay, as if 2 different musical instruments were being played alternatively, taking turns to express themselves, but never to make themselves heard simultaneously, since there is but 1 vocal cord. Moreover, these 2 entities are prone to switching hemispheres from time to time, much more frequently than in males.

4. Lessons for Males

Female behavior patterns such as spending substantial amounts of time each day in front of a mirror for facial makeup using cosmetics and to perfect one’s hairdo may provide important clues for ways to deal with the subconscious mind; they must not only cater to the instinctive wish to look beautiful but also to the needs of the Animus to be shown loving care through digital contact, with repeated, stroking sensations over the face and hair.
Females must somehow understand that the Animus is like a pet (kitten?) kept inside the skull that needs to be stroked and patted gently every day for reassurance and to keep it in good spirits.
Males have much to gain from such a recognition and should try to emulate where possible, so that relations with the subconscious mind may be kept smooth and sound, lest it should feel neglected and resort to expressions of resentment and frustration in nefarious ways.

II. Re-Classification

1. Now we can depart from a simple classification into males and females and broaden our horizons, admitting to the fact that the idea of 2 genders without ambiguity, diversity, or exceptional cases, must be much over-simplified, especially given differences in the way the subconscious appears in speech.

2. One way to classify the way people think may be by focusing on the use of the 2 hemispheres.

Closed/Insulated : Only 1 of the hemispheres can be used at a time and accessing the other hemisphere is a time consuming process.

Open/ Versatile : Both hemispheres can be mobilized at once and accessed without hindrance.

3. People may be classified roughly into 4 categories, according to the degree to which each brain hemisphere is utilized during speech and conversation.

A. Super-logical
The left hemisphere is almost always the one in use.

B. Logical
The left hemisphere is mainly employed, but the right hemisphere comes into use from time to time.

C. Instinctive
The right hemisphere is mainly employed, and the left hemisphere comes into use from time to time.

D. Super-instinctive
The right hemisphere is almost always the one in use.

4. People may behave very differently depending on the context and TPO and, therefore, individuals may fall under a certain category during the day, then belong to a different one in the evening, so that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be 2 facets of the same individual.

5. The personality of females may depend on the degree to which the Anima and Animus appear in speech and conversation.
The male impression that females are fickle and capricious may be due to the tendency of the female Animus to make a surprise appearance in speech, especially in the company of males; males may have no way of knowing how females behave in the company of females only.

6. In the different stages in life, such as infancy, childhood, puberty, teenager, adulthood, maturity, middle-age and elderly, people may belong to different categories.

(1) The subconscious seems to make a blatant appearance from the onset of puberty until sexual maturity, during which it must contribute to the beginning of menstrual cycles, changes in voice, and emotional instability as a teenager.

(2) Things should generally settle down at the age of about 18 years, so that there is a measure of stability and self-restraint as an adult. Most people may lead their lives without feeling the presence of the subconscious (or sex drive, practically speaking) so often, unless the situation expressly pertains to courtship and sex.

(3) After the age or 55 or above, when a person approaches the end of his or her reproductive life, the subconscious seems to make its presence felt in malicious ways to have a detrimental influence on health in general, including hormone balance, contributing to a steady trend of physical and intellectual decline, depending on whether the individual can continue to make contributions to the family and society in general.

(4) At this stage, the subconscious seems to send out the message that, “Now that you are too old personally to contribute to reproduction, you must contribute to family and society in other ways. Otherwise, you had better start to withdraw from the community, become reclusive, and plan to disappear in good time, because you may be nothing more than a big burden.”

7. Conscious Parasite

If the development of a human fetus into a human being before birth can provide us with clues on the process of evolution, the mammalian brain (the diencephalon) where the subconscious is based, must predate the human brain (the neocortex) wherein lies the sanctuary of the conscious.

The subconscious, based in the mammalian brain, is responsible for the daily running of bodily functions for survival and reproduction, and the conscious mind may appear to be an appendage, haphazardly created through evolution.

In fact, the conscious mind may appear to be nothing but a parasite that is entirely unaware and ignorant of how the host organism works, and this parasite became increasingly self-assertive as mankind came to develop sophisticated languages and began to think in abstract terms.

8. Brain Chatter

(1) Given the above analysis, one may make the inference that those who develop brain chatter after adulthood may tend to be either A (the super-logical) or D (the super-instinctive), given observations that the most serious mindset is likely to be afflicted.

(2) In both males and females, the subconscious (the Anima or the Animus) that completely lacked self-expression through speech, apparently finding its frustration beyond limit, accesses the language areas of the brain and starts to vent complaints and seek emotional release using expletives and foul language.

(3) From accounts of women afflicted with schizophrenia, we are led to believe that their symptoms may be less serious than in males, and the reason may be because the voices heard by females may carry messages more benign in content compared to male patients. In fact, while the males must contend with a diabolical entity with no access to the frontal lobe but comes under the sway of the amygdala, giving way to a bestial and temperamental instinct, female patients may be faced with an entity that is more human, possibly because it has access to the forebrain or prefrontal lobe that enables thinking in terms of morals and humanitarian values. If this is the case, we could make the inference that in females, it is the subconscious mind, Animus, that has access to the prefrontal lobe and not the conscious mind, the Anima.

III. Collectivized Subconscious

If the female consciousness or Anima has no access to the prefrontal cortex, it is apparent that, when speech is carried out by the Anima, this will come out primarily from animal instincts, without regard for moral or ethical considerations handled exclusively in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, there is a good reason for the Animus to appear from time to time and lend a voice to moral and humanitarian considerations. Furthermore, females seem to be endowed with another system for maintaining security.

1. Because females are generally less well-endowed in terms of body size and muscular strength, they may feel an extra sense of insecurity compared to the men. Accordingly, they will tend to stick to one another and move in groups, to form a collective security system.

2. There seems to be a silent form of communication among females that is tantamount to the “silent megaphone” in males afflicted with schizophrenia. Because this occurs without throwing audible voices, it is undetectable and passes unnoticed by males.

This general cluster of the subconscious may be referred to as the collectivized subconscious. (This may be different from the entity described as the “collective unconscious” by Carl Jung, based on archetypes.)

(1) An important rationale for the collectivized subconscious must be to protect the females with their crucial biological role, coupled with comparatively smaller bodies, limited muscular strength and lack of access to the prefrontal cortex by the Anima.

(2) Females must be protected from undesirable males who may forcibly try to approach and couple, be advised on how to behave during their monthly periods, when they conceive and prepare to give birth to children.

(3) The collectivized subconscious in family groups and communities will try to constrain and protect its members through formal and informal education, passing on social skills and through religious teachings, not to speak of on-the-spot scolding, with both spoken and unspoken guidance.

(4) The collectivized subconscious may have greater sway in those societies where women are relegated to a lower social status compared to the men.

This is because, if women’s rights and well-being are sufficiently protected by law and customs, and their voice in society assured so that they can be outspoken in demanding rights equal to the men, there may be no urgent need for the collectivized subconscious to work its way through the community by tacit means of communication. The collectivized subconscious may remain passive and inert, until such times as when women find their livelihood threatened by changing circumstances, sometimes with the arrival of outsiders.

(5) Over the long run, the collectivized subconscious may be considered as the cradle of conservatism, or the innate force in communities and societies that tries to assure there will be a measure of continuity in traditions and collective values to be handed down to posterity, despite the ubiquitous generation gap, due to constant innovation as well as to changes in climate and environment.

IV. Conclusion

1. The differences between males and females pertain to the fact that females give offspring and that males tend to be larger, with superior muscular strength, and this results in a sense of extra insecurity for females, leading to somewhat different roles for the subconscious.

In females, while the conscious mind retains control over muscular movement and locomotion as well as exclusive competence in moralistic thinking, just as in the case of males, the subconscious may have a comparatively greater role in vocalized speech and in decision-making, especially in cases where physical insecurity and/or the motherly instinct are involved.

2. In any group of people whose membership consists of both males and females, females may find their subconscious minds not only to be the main speakers, but also unwilling to let go of the microphone due to the male presence, which adds to insecurity and concerns over physical safety, unless the males are outnumbered.

3. Given such tendencies, one may point to the following female characteristics:

(1) If left to themselves, females are liable to come under the domination of the Anima, obsessed with reproduction and extra security, especially in times of crisis.

(2) This may result in an unwelcome flavor at times of decision making; if females come to sway the general mood in meetings and congregations, and if the drive to achieve extra security becomes dominant, this may lead to insularity and xenophobia.

(3) Given smooth and unimpeded connections between the left and right hemispheres, the female awareness may swing back and forth rapidly between the 2 hemispheres when engaged in conversation or in thought.

This may be an asset when trying to identify issues from diverse angles, but a liability when trying to focus on a new, complicated problem for research and analysis, especially to find a practical, step-by-step solution. This is because sporadic use of the 2 hemispheres tends to distract attention and get in the way of deep, rigorous thinking that may require persistent use of the left hemisphere.

4. Given global warming, climate change and frequent natural disasters of great magnitude, females, while seeking equal rights and opportunities with males, may all the more feel the need to enlist the help of males with their larger bodies, superior muscular strength and other talents including rigorous thinking, to save peoples’ lives and livelihood.

5. If so, males and females must understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and try to complement and support each other.
They must try to peacefully coexist in a spirit of cooperation and work together to create a stable and resilient social community, fulfilling the needs of reproduction and propagation, while making sure the group makes a swift and timely adaptation to the constantly changing environment, without being cornered into narrow-mindedness or discrimination.

6. When speaking with members of the opposite sex, it may be a good idea to choose a particular brain hemisphere for listening comprehension, as follows:

(1) For the males, it may be advisable to use the right brain hemisphere when having a conversation with females, because the primary motivation for women when they speak out, may be to gain the understanding and sympathy of their conversation partners, especially to convey how much toil and trouble they had to go through in carrying out a task, including the stress involved, rather than to make a point of logic or reasoning to show how clever they are. For this purpose, move about and fidget with the fingers on the left hand or the toes on the left side.

(2) For females, it may be preferable to use the left hemisphere when listening to male speech, because males tend to be insulated inside their left hemisphere when speaking out, and it will be easier to follow their contentions if the same hemisphere is being used. For this purpose, move about and fidget with the fingers on the right hand or the toes on the right side.

7. The importance of education for youngsters of both sexes cannot be over-emphasized. Besides tuition of traditional subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic, it should be important to cover moral values and philosophy, so that pupils and students may have a basic guidance or a code of conduct on how to behave in a complex social situation, to keep oneself within acceptable behavior patterns recognizable by the elders.

To this should be added basic knowledge on procreation and the opposite sex, to cast away any unneeded curiosity, to minimize the chances of misunderstanding and boorish behavior.

8. While education, by definition, may have conservative overtones, one should again be keenly aware that, in this age of drastic climate change and cataclysmic natural disasters, the relevance of a static perspective of society, on the assumption that life continues with progress but with regularity and predictability, may all have to be put to question, lest conservative views get in the way of adaptation that may be needed for sheer survival.