Men think they’re smarter than women, even when they’re not: Study

Research has confirmed that men are more likely to have a higher opinion of themselves than women.

The study, conducted by the Arizona State University in the United States and published in the American Physiological Society Journal, found that as many as two-thirds of male students thought they were smarter than their peers. In contrast, women were more likely to be accurate when it came to their own assessments.

For the research, 202 biology students were interviewed about their educational experiences, with an aim of discovering not only what the students thought about themselves, but their peers. Each student was asked to answer the percentage of their classmates they thought were smarter than themselves.

They were also quizzed on who they would prefer to work closely with in class and whether they believed they were more or less smart than that person. The results found that even though the majority of male students had an average academic ability, most thought they were smarter than 66 per cent of their peers.

In contrast, female students with the same academic ability thought they were smarter than 54 per cent of their classmates. This led researchers to believe that females were more likely to give a more accurate estimate of their intelligence.

They also noted that in some cases, women undervalued themselves. Just 33 per cent of women thought they were smarter than their peers. Despite this, more women were enrolled in the class, with 130 compared to the 70 male students. Two students didn’t state their gender.

Despite the younger generation moving towards equal rights and equality between genders, this study proves that there is still a long way to go. If men continue to think they’re better than women, it questions whether the younger generation is really going to be able to break the cycle of inequality that they continually fight against.

According to a recent report by security4women.org, women are still having to work harder than men for the same level of pay. In 2015, women needed to work an additional 65 days to earn the same amount of money as men, while the national gender pay gap in Australia sits at around 17.9 per cent. This means on average, a woman is earning $284.20 less each week for doing the same job as men.

It has sparked outrage in Hollywood and the media industry, with more women coming forward with stories of how they earned less than men. The ongoing issue is something that women have been struggling to overcome for generations. Baby Boomers first brought the issue of inequality between sexes to a head in the 1960s and ’70s, but have faced an upward battle when it comes to achieving their goal. 

While there are more women in the work forces nowadays, compared to female employment rates in the ’60s and ’70s, many young women find themselves disadvantaged after taking time off to have children, and fail to promote their abilities as frequently as their male colleagues. 

What do you think? Are men more sure of themselves? Has this ever been a problem for you?