Men found it twice as hard to guess a woman’s mood than a man’s after being shown pictures of people’s eyes and estimating how they were feeling, researchers found.

研究人員讓男性通過看照片中人的眼神來猜測他們的心思，結果發現，男性覺得猜女性的心思要比男性的難猜得多。

However, the study showed that it is not because of men’s lack of trying - the male volunteers were given brain scans while they looked at the pictures, and the data suggested an unusual reason for the difficulty in reading women’s feelings.

而且研究表明，之所以會這樣并不是因為男人懶得去猜——通過對男性志愿者看照片時的大腦掃描發現，男性確實很難猜透女性的心思。

When looking at male eyes, men related what they saw to themselves, with the parts of their brains linked to past thoughts and feelings lighting up, the Daily Mail reported.

據《每日郵報》報道，志愿者在看男性的眼睛時，往往會聯想到自己，大腦中相關過去的想法與情緒會隨之調動起來。

The study suggested that they understood what other men felt by remembering similar moments in their own lives, and then used them to evaluate the image, the researchers said.

研究人員說，研究顯示，通過聯想自己類似的生活經歷，男性能夠理解同性的感受，并對照片中的人作出猜測。

But when they looked at female eyes, the men were baffled, as their brains searched for memories of when they had seen another woman who looked similar to the image, and meant men found it harder to empathise with women’s feelings.

但當他們看女性的眼神時，卻變得摸不著頭腦，大腦不斷搜尋自己看過的其他類似女性神情，自然，這樣男性就很難在情緒上跟女性產生共鳴。

The scientists found that the amygdala, a part of the brain believed to be important for empathy with others, showed more activity when men looked at a man, rather than a woman.

科學家還發現，人腦中的杏仁體對情感共鳴起著重要作用。因此，當男性觀察男性時，這部分會很活躍;如果是觀察女性則不會。

The researchers, from the LWL University Hospital in Bochum, western Germany, said the male ability to decipher a woman's thoughts from her expression relates to earlier periods of history when being able to tell what another man was thinking – and whether he posed a threat – was much more important.

在德國波鴻市的LWL大學醫院，研究人員發現，男性從表情揣摩女性心思的能力較差也和早期歷史有關，對于那時候的男性們來說，能夠猜到同性的想法進而判斷他是否構成威脅，是更為重要的生存能力。

Commenting on the results of the study, published in journal PLoS ONE, the researchers said: “As men were more involved in hunting and territory fights, it would have been important for them to be able to predict and foresee the intentions and actions of their male rivals.”

研究人員說道：“因為男性更多從事狩獵和領土爭奪 ，因此對他們而言，猜測并預計男性對手的動機和行動就顯得非常重要。” 此項調查的結果已經發表在了《PLoS ONE》期刊上。

Men found it twice as hard to guess a woman’s mood than a man’s after being shown pictures of people’s eyes and estimating how they were feeling, researchers found.

研究人員讓男性通過看照片中人的眼神來猜測他們的心思，結果發現，男性覺得猜女性的心思要比男性的難猜得多。

However, the study showed that it is not because of men’s lack of trying - the male volunteers were given brain scans while they looked at the pictures, and the data suggested an unusual reason for the difficulty in reading women’s feelings.

而且研究表明，之所以會這樣并不是因為男人懶得去猜——通過對男性志愿者看照片時的大腦掃描發現，男性確實很難猜透女性的心思。

When looking at male eyes, men related what they saw to themselves, with the parts of their brains linked to past thoughts and feelings lighting up, the Daily Mail reported.

據《每日郵報》報道，志愿者在看男性的眼睛時，往往會聯想到自己，大腦中相關過去的想法與情緒會隨之調動起來。

The study suggested that they understood what other men felt by remembering similar moments in their own lives, and then used them to evaluate the image, the researchers said.

研究人員說，研究顯示，通過聯想自己類似的生活經歷，男性能夠理解同性的感受，并對照片中的人作出猜測。

But when they looked at female eyes, the men were baffled, as their brains searched for memories of when they had seen another woman who looked similar to the image, and meant men found it harder to empathise with women’s feelings.

但當他們看女性的眼神時，卻變得摸不著頭腦，大腦不斷搜尋自己看過的其他類似女性神情，自然，這樣男性就很難在情緒上跟女性產生共鳴。

The scientists found that the amygdala, a part of the brain believed to be important for empathy with others, showed more activity when men looked at a man, rather than a woman.

科學家還發現，人腦中的杏仁體對情感共鳴起著重要作用。因此，當男性觀察男性時，這部分會很活躍;如果是觀察女性則不會。

The researchers, from the LWL University Hospital in Bochum, western Germany, said the male ability to decipher a woman's thoughts from her expression relates to earlier periods of history when being able to tell what another man was thinking – and whether he posed a threat – was much more important.

在德國波鴻市的LWL大學醫院，研究人員發現，男性從表情揣摩女性心思的能力較差也和早期歷史有關，對于那時候的男性們來說，能夠猜到同性的想法進而判斷他是否構成威脅，是更為重要的生存能力。

Commenting on the results of the study, published in journal PLoS ONE, the researchers said: “As men were more involved in hunting and territory fights, it would have been important for them to be able to predict and foresee the intentions and actions of their male rivals.”

研究人員說道：“因為男性更多從事狩獵和領土爭奪 ，因此對他們而言，猜測并預計男性對手的動機和行動就顯得非常重要。” 此項調查的結果已經發表在了《PLoS ONE》期刊上。