Track 13

Unit 6

Anthropology/biology

The science of love

Page 60

Extend the topic

Part A

Thank you. Well, let me give you some background before I read. I was inspired to write this book after attending a conference in Miami. There I heard experts in psychology, sociology and biology present on romance and how the two genders perceive it differently.

Their conclusions, well, some of the differences are caused by nature and others by nurture but the big question was how much of each? On that question, few of the experts could agree. Hence my inspiration to research it further and write a book. So on that note I’d like to read you a short excerpt starting on page 14.

On one hand, some scientists make the point that the brains of boys and girls are awash in very different hormones throughout their entire lives. They also note that the left and right hemispheres of women’s brains are more highly connected, a fact that usually is interpreted to mean that women’s thinking is more strongly connected to their emotions.

So we know that there are some real physical differences behind how men and women experience romance. On the other hand socialization undoubtedly also plays a role in each genders approach to romance. Some experts say that the fact that women are generally more comfortable expressing affection toward men than men are toward women is a result of socialization.

Another behavior attributed to socialization is women’s comfort with expressing fear and sadness regardless of the gender of the person they’re talking to. This isn’t the case with men. So how much of the difference is attributed to nature and how much to nurture? Opinions and evidence vary. One famous study conducted in…