1. Brain Gap
Sandy Finestone, Psy.D

2. Did you know ????? That every brain begins as a female brain
Scientist have proved that until eight weeks after conception, all brains are female.
A testosterone surge in the eighth week will turn this unisex brain male by killing off some cells in the communication center and growing more cells in the sex and aggression centers

3. Genetic coding
More than 99 percent of male and female genetic coding is exactly the same.
Of the 30,000 genes in the human genome, there is less than one percent variation between the sexes.
But that one percentage influences every single cell in our bodies
From the nerves that register pleasure and pain
To the neurons that transmit perception, thoughts, feelings and emotions.

4. Genetic coding
If we look at genetic females whose brains are exposed to surges of testosterone at the eighth week of conception, we see that these girls behavior, and presumably brain structure are more similar to males than females.
This has not been technologically proven because it is too difficult to do the imaging scans on small children
However behavior studies indicate these girls are more inclined to roughhousing and fantasy play about monsters and action figures.
These girls do better on spatial tests but less well on verbal tests.

5. Perception
Male brains are larger by about 9%, even correcting for body size
In the 19th century, scientists took this to mean that women had less mental capacity than men.
Actually, women and men have the same number of brain cells
The cells are just packed more densely in women.

6. Science
For much of the 20th century, scientists assumed that women were essentially small men except for their reproductive functions.
That assumption has lead too misunderstanding about female psychology and physiology.
Until recently, women were not used for medical research because their menstrual cycles would mess up the data.

7. Why do boys and girls act differently?
On the playground and in the classroom we clearly see that boys and girls behave differently.
Many think these differences are culturally influenced

8. But is it really our environment?
New scientific information tell us no…it is our brain that dictates these divergent behaviors.

9. THE FEMALE BRAIN Louann Brizendine, M.D.,
a neuropsychiatrist at the University of California. San Francisco
has written a book titled
“ THE FEMALE BRAIN”
to try and explain these differences.

10. Depression
Dr. Brizendine noted that there was a 2-1 ratio of depression in women compared to men and there did not seem to be a clear explanation as to why.
She noticed that these rates did not start to diverge until females turned twelve or thirteen, the age girls begin menstruating.
It appeared that the chemical changes at puberty did something in the brain to trigger more depression in women.

11. Theories
Traditional psychology at that time, looked at childhood experiences but never considered that specific female brain chemistry might be involved.
In 1994 Dr. Brizendine opened the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry at her university.
It was one of the first clinics in the country dedicated to looking at how neurochemistry and hormones affect women’s moods.

12. Hormones
Research found that the female brain is so deeply affected by hormones that they can shape a woman’s reality.
Hormonal presence is felt at every stage of life
Because of the hormonal fluctuations that begin as early as 3 months old and last until menopause, a woman’s neurological realty is not as constant as a man’s.

13. Technology
Advances in brain imaging technology have resulted in a complete revolution in neuroscientific research and theory.
PET and MRI now allow us to see the brain in real time
We can see the brain as it is solving problems, retrieving memories, falling in love, listening to babies cry and feeling depression, fear and anxiety

14. Differences
We have learned that men and women have different brain sensitivities to stress and conflict.
Men and women use different brain areas and circuits to solve problems, process language, experience and store the same emotion.
The female and male brain process stimuli, hear, see, sense and gauge what others are feeling in different ways.

15. Different circuits
The female and male brain can perform and accomplish the same goals and tasks but they use different circuits.
A German study conducted brain scans of men and women while they mentally rotated abstract, three dimensional shapes.
There was no performance difference but there was significant differences in the brain circuits they activated to complete the task.

16. Different circuits
Women triggered brain pathways linked to visual identification and took more time than men picturing objects in their minds.
In the brain centers for language and hearing, women have 11 percent more neurons than men.
The hippocampus, the principal hub for emotion and memory formation, is larger in the female brain as is the brain circuitry for language and observing others.

17. Different circuits
Men have 2 ½ times more the brain space devoted to sexual drive
Men have sexual thoughts every 52 seconds on average
Woman have sexual thoughts once a day on average

18. Different circuits
The amygdala, the brain center for action and aggression, is larger in men
That is why men can go from zero to a fistfight in matter of seconds
Women will try anything to defuse conflict and the psychological stress of conflict registers deeper in women

19. Responses
Although we live in a modern world, we inhabit bodies that were designed to live in the wild.
From the beginning of time, our stress responses were designed to react to physical danger and life threatening situations.
Take that stress response and add modern challenges of juggling home, kids and work and we have a situation where women perceive an unpaid bill as life threatening.

20. Responses
The male will not have the same response unless the threat is of immediate physical danger.
These basic, structural variance in the male and female brain help to explain the everyday differences in the behavior and life experience of men and women.

21. Innate differences
In January 2005, Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard University shocked and enraged his colleagues, and the public when he stated “ it does appear that on many, many different human attributes, mathematical ability, scientific ability, there is relatively clear evidence that there is a difference in the standard deviation, and variability of a male and female population, that are not culturally determined.”
This was interpreted to mean that women are innately less suited than men to be mathematicians and scientists.

22. Innate differences Was he right ??????
We know that there when girls and boys first hit their teen years there is no difference in their mathematical and scientific capacity.
But as estrogen floods the female brain, females start to focus intensely on their emotions and communication.
At the same time, testosterone takes over the male brain and boys grow less communicative and become more focused on scoring, in games and in the back seat of a car.

23. Career choices At the time when they are planning their career paths
girls start to loose interest in pursuits that require solitary work
and are drawn to more interaction with others
While boys easily retreat to their rooms and their computers.

24. Nature versus Nurture
Nature certainly has the most influence in sex specific behaviors
But experience and interaction with others can modify neurons and brain wiring.
For example: if you want to play the piano, every time you practice your brain assigns more neurons to that activity until playing becomes second nature to you.
Adult expectations for girls and boys behavior plays an important role in shaping brain circuits although scientists do not know exactly how much reshaping can occur.

25. Female abilities The female brain gives women unique aptitude for:
Outstanding verbal agility
The ability to connect deeply in friendships
An innate capacity to read faces and tones of voice for emotions and states of mind
The ability to defuse conflict

26. Verbal skills
Many women find biological comfort in one another’s company and language is the glue that connects one female to another.
No surprise then that some verbal areas of the brain are larger in women than in men.
We know that girls speak earlier and by the age of 20 months have double or triple the vocabulary than do boys.
Girls speak 250 words per minute versus 125 for typical males.
A woman uses about 20,000 words a day, while a man uses about 7,000

27. Estrogen Estrogen refreshes and recharges a female brain.
There is a 25% growth of connections in the hippocampus during weeks one and two of the menstrual cycle making the brain a little sharper.
A woman thinks clearer, remembers more, thinks more quickly and her mind is more agile during this period.
During the last two weeks of the cycle progesterone causes the brain to become more calm and sedated
In the last few days progesterone collapses, leaving the brain momentarily upset, stressed and irritable.

28. Attraction
In both males and females, oxytocin causes relaxation, fearlessness, bonding and contentment.
To maintain these effects long term, the brain needs almost daily activation through oxytocin stimulated by closeness and touch
Males need to be touched two to three times more frequently than females to retain the same level of oxytocin.
Male bond more quickly when stress levels are high
However, the stress hormone cortisol blocks oxytocin in the female brain shutting off a woman’s desire for physical touch.

29. Anger
Although men and women report feeling the same amount of anger, the expression is clearly greater in men.
The amygdala is the brain center for fear, anger and aggression
It is physically larger in men
However, the prefrontal cortex, which controls fear, anger and aggression is larger in women
The male amygdala has many testosterone receptors
That is why younger men, who typically have higher levels of testosterone get angry quicker

30. The work place
An August 2006 article exploring career choices found that despite affirmative action laws created in 1961, women comprise 90% of the top three female career choices (secretaries, teachers and nurses) and men comprise 85% of the three top career choices for men (sales, mangers, supervisors)

31. The work place
An October 2006 study showed that individuals, both male and female, with a “systemizing brain”, tend to be driven to analyze, understand, predict, control and construct rule based systems.
More men than women have “systemizing brains” therefore the systemizing brain has been called the male brain.
By contrast, men or women with and “empathizing brain” tend to be drive to identify another’s emotions and thoughts and to respond with an appropriate emotion.
More women than men have an “empathizing brain” therefore is called a female brain.

32. The work place
A University of Pittsburgh study found that women who planned careers in male-dominated occupations had higher career and educational aspirations than women who desired careers in female dominated professions.
A review of Pharmacists, a career that is viewed as gender blind, indicated that female pharmacists were more than 4 times as likely as male pharmacists to work part-time and 70% more likely to work in the hospital industry.

33. The Work Place
Since 1990, over half the enrollees at Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas have been women.
A study was done looking at the differences in practice patterns and found that after 1-5 years from graduation, more males were in private practice while more women were dental school facilitators or in private practice as an employee.
6-10 years from graduation there was no significant differences
However after 10 years more males were practice owners and women were in solo practices.

34. Career Considerations by Gender
Working in a team environment 33% males 43% females
Make a contribution to society 26% males 43% females
Internship before employment 36% males 54% females
Opportunities to meet new people 36% males 56% females
Growing industry 78% males 88% females
Flexible work schedule 26% males 36% females
Intellectually challenging 31% males 46% females
Job to be proud of 57% males 71% females

35. Degree choices
In % of Bachelors degrees in mathematics were awarded to females, 29% of Masters degrees and 7% at the Doctoral level
In % of Bachelors degrees in mathematics were awarded to females, 34% of Masters degrees and 16% at the Doctoral level
In % of Bachelors degrees in Computer Sciences were awarded to females
By 1981 this number increased to 32%

36. Engineering Degree
Female engineering graduates with a Bachelor’s degree in comprised an insignificant percentage of the total and barely ½ of 1% were employed in the field.
By 1981 the percentage had reached 10%
By 1988 the percentage had reached 14%
But in 1991 females comprised on 9% of the employed engineers

37. Psychology Degree
In 1971 females received 44% of the Bachelors degrees
By 1981 that number increased to 65%
By 1988 that number increased again to 70%

38. Conclusion
Dr. Summer got everyone upset when he said men and women were “different”
But different does not mean “better” or “worse”
Even though there are male and female ways of approaching the world, they are still only averages on a spectrum of behavior

39. Summary
Baron-Cohen presents evidence that males or biologically predisposed to systemize, to analyze and to be more forgetful of others.
Females are designed to empathize, to communicate and care for others
Males tend to think narrowly and obsess
Females think broadly, taking into account balancing arguments
Creativity and original thinking have no male-female bias

40. Workplace Personalities
1. The Locomotive
The locomotive steam rolls over people. She is very angry and hostile and takes out her frustrations on others. She comes across as being tyrannical, autocratic and dictatorial.
Her favorite saying is “ my way or the highway”

41. What to do ! Do not take it……
Go to you supervisor if you need to and describe how the person’s behavior effects your work, express how you feel and specify how you need to be communicated to differently.
Be assertive with the Locomotive

42. Workplace personalities
2. The Perfectionist
If something is not perfect, the perfectionist becomes negative. This person’s standards of performance are not realistic, and event excellent work that is praised by others is unacceptable to him or her.
The favorite saying of the perfectionist is “ it could have been better”

43. What to do !
Do not take these people’s statements seriously. They are only expressing their own inadequacies, not yours.
Try to work with them so that they can set realistic expectations for themselves and others.

44. Workplace Personalities
3. The Ice Person/Resister
Any change, no matter how small, can upset the ice person. He or she loves status quo. Try to change anything and resistance will flare up.
The favorite saying of the Ice Person is “ I liked it better the old way”

45. What to do !
The best thing to do is to try and involve this type of person in the change.
If they are part of the process or come up with the change themselves, their resistance will decrease.
You might also want to gradually introduce the change to them to give them time to get used to it.

46. Workplace Personalities
4. The Not-My-Jobber
This individual refuses to do any task, no matter how simple, if they decide it is not part of their job responsibilities.
The favorite saying of the Not-my-jobber is “ It is not part of my job description to do that”

47. What to do !
Try to find training and development opportunities for a Not-My- Job-er.
Often they want growth and advancement but feel they are in a dead end job and therefore lose enthusiasm so tries to do as little as possible.

48. Workplace Personalities
5. The Rumormonger
A Rumormonger spreads rumors. They feel a sense of importance when the stories they create or helped spread begin to circulate or when others have strong reactions to what they are saying.
The favorite saying of the Rumormonger is “ let me tell you what is really happening”

49. What to do !
The best solution is to give people in the organization the information and facts they need.
When you do this, there is little motivation for them to listen to the rumormonger.

50. Workplace Personalities
The Pessimist
The pessimist experiences the world as an unpleasant place. They expect the world to fall down on him, and if it doesn’t, he will do everything possible to help bring it down. He is unhappy with the way things are and no matter what does not change his outlook.
The favorite saying of the Pessimist is “ the tunnel will never end”

51. What to do !
It is not easy to change a pessimist’s attitude easily, so for a start, focus on having them adopt some new specific positive habits to take the place of their existing negative ones.

52. Workplace Personalities
The Uncommitted
The uncommitted does not take their job seriously, making their teammates work more difficult. They focus on doing as little work as possible to take care of personal mattes or other interests.
The favorite saying of the Uncommitted is “ it can wait”

53. What to do !
An uncommitted needs to have clear goals, standards and expectations established and then communicated to them.
They also need close monitoring to see how they are performing.
Be encouraging.

54. Workplace Personalities
The Criticizer
The Criticizer will knock down a creative approach, a new suggestion or a different way of doing things. He likes to be right, no matter what. He finds problems where ever he goes, never opportunities.
The favorite saying of the Criticizer is “ bad idea”

55. What to do !
The criticizer likes to give negative feedback, but they are rarely specific. Ask them for examples, evidence or his reasons for disagreeing.
Emphasize that you want to incorporate their concerns to make the project as good as possible.
You must be persistent and not give up.

56. Workplace Personalities
The Crybaby
A Crybaby behaves like a child who doesn’t get their own way. They frown, withdraw, go off on a tirade and literally cry.
The favorite saying of a Crybaby is “Nobody loves me”

57. What to do !
This person needs a supportive environment and constant encouragement that they are doing well.
They also have to have lover stress and pressure levels.

58. Workplace Personalities
The Sacrificer
The Sacrificer is the bleeding heart of the Office. They come in early and stay late. They will do anything you ask them to do but in a self-deprecating way. They complain about their workload, difficult employees, customers and bosses.
The favorite saying of the Sacrificer is “ I have given my life to this company and nobody cares”

59. What to do !
You must give this person constant feedback on how much you appreciate their contributions and hard work.
They especially like recognition in front of colleagues and teammates.
If you really want them to remain positive, periodically send them an in which you praise their commitment.

60. Workplace Personalities
The Self Castigator
The Self Castigator finds fault with his job performance, appearance, career progress, socioeconomic status, educational background and so on.
The favorite saying of the Self Castigator is “ you idiot, why did you do that”

61. What to do !
Find any strategy to build up this person’s self esteem. They are in desperate need of some ego boosts.
You could gather evidence that they are wrong about themselves and then present them with that evidence.