Scientists have proven the existence of a trait in men that often irritates women

Australian scientists have confirmed that men are significantly more likely than women to stop attentively listening and responding to a conversation partner under multitasking conditions. The results of the study were published in the journal Psychological Research.

In the experiment, the researchers attempted to recreate a typical everyday situation in which a person has to do several things simultaneously: search for information, follow words, complete tasks, and maintain a conversation. A total of 78 men and women participated in the study.

While performing tasks, participants were asked pre-recorded questions every 20 seconds that required detailed answers, for example: "Would you rather be 10 minutes late or arrive 20 minutes early?" Subjects were asked to respond as if they were having a conversation with another person.

It turned out that women handled this noticeably better. On average, they answered nearly 25 out of 28 questions, while men answered approximately 20. In other words, women missed about 12% of the prompts, while men missed nearly 28% — more than twice as often.

At the same time, the quality of men's answers was on par with women's. The problem was specifically that they more frequently "tuned out of the conversation" — completely failing to notice a question or not responding to it when they were focused on other activities.

In the second stage of the study, independent observers also noted that men appeared less engaged in the conversation, made less effort to maintain the dialogue, and derived less enjoyment from it.

The authors suggest that men may subconsciously consider conversation a lower-priority task compared to other activities, or become so focused on the task at hand that they simply do not notice speech directed at them.

According to the researchers, this effect may explain the common everyday stereotype that women are better at multitasking. The scientists emphasize that the difference primarily concerns the ability to maintain communication rather than the performance of other tasks. This may be relevant not only in family life but also in professions where successful work depends on constant information exchange, such as aviation, medicine, or emergency services.