Would you Adam and Eve it?

Men and women act differently because their brains are built differently, says Chloe Rhodes

The physical differences between men and women have long been understood, and can be traced directly to our primeval roles as hunters and child-bearers. But until recently, the many behavioural differences between have perplexed us.

So what is it that makes women want to chat about the events of their day while men would rather reflect on theirs in silence? Why do men generally gravitate to computer and sports magazines while women prefer gossip and relationship glossies? And why do men and women often seem to want such different things from their relationships with each other?

A new BBC television series, The Science of the Sexes, suggests that the answers may lie in the fundamental differences in our brains - a view backed up by research published last week.

Scientists at Bath University have found that men and women feel pain in different ways, with men focusing on how to get through it as quickly as possible, and women becoming so consumed with their emotional response to an injury that they may feel it more intensely.

In dealing with the psychological pain of divorce, the sex-divide is just as pronounced, though women are the ones most able to cope. A separate study, for the Yorkshire Building Society, revealed that women were better than men at dealing with all the stages of a break-up, 61 per cent saying that, in the first two years after a divorce, they were happier than before the relationship ended. Only 51 per cent of men felt the same way.

Clinical psychologist Dr Frank Tallis, who appears in the BBC series, says that these findings can be explained by significant differences in the brain. "In evolutionary terms, women are designed to be sociable because they were the ones socialising the children," he says. "They have communication skills that men don't have, which allow them talk through their feelings and be comforted by their friends and family. Men are less able to make use of friendship networks and will try to minimise their emotional distress rather than trying to work through it."

These natural advantages were found to have played an important role for the women questioned in the Yorkshire study. In the first couple of years after their divorce, they socialised more with friends, spent time with their families and received counselling or therapy. Men were more likely to seek casual sex, drink more and join a dating agency.

"You see these techniques a lot in a clinical setting," says Dr Tallis. "After a relationship breakdown, men tend to pursue sex as a solution, seeking a new sexual relationship to restore their self-esteem rather than taking time to reflect on why their marriage has broken down."

Similar characteristics determine men's behaviour at the start of relationships, too. Contrary to popular belief, they are far more likely than women to fall head over heels in love, because they are more likely to follow their instinct to pursue a woman they find attractive.