London - Men are more likely to guess the endings of complex TV crime dramas because women are distracted by the emotion of the story, claims a leading psychologist.
Dr David Lewis has said that men remain detached while watching detective dramas such as ITV’s The Secret and BBC One’s Undercover and pick up on hints about the ending that women miss.
Dr Lewis said: “A man is much more likely to look at that and say ‘ah ha!’ A woman, because she is focused on the emotions, is less likely to spot these things designed to give you a hint.
“Women tend to be much more empathic. They tend to associate with people at an emotional level much better than men.”
The psychologist is the director of research laboratory Mindlab International in Brighton and was speaking to coincide with the launch of season 2 of US detective series Bosch on Amazon Prime. He said research shows the pathway that connects the two halves of the brain, called the corpus callosum, is greater in women.
Dr Lewis said this is why women “tend to focus more on the emotions being displayed by the characters whereas the man tends to be more detached from it so they are better able to spot the underlying truths.” The international lecturer admitted that though studies are yet to be carried out on the gender divide in responses to crime dramas, anecdotal evidence suggests his theory is true.
Dr Lewis, who has a doctorate in experimental psychology, also claimed that men enjoy violence far more than women in television programmes.
“Women tend to be much more sensitive to any kind of violence. The more vulnerable the victim is seen to be, the less people like the drama,” he said. “Generally speaking men, especially young men, are much more action-orientated. They are much more interested in things which are gritty and realistic. With something that is very fast moving you are going to have to pay attention or you will lose out on it,” he added.
The French-born academic said that older viewers were also likely to shy away from gratuitous violence on screen which is why programmes such as ITV’s Midsomer Murders has such enduring appeal.
“If you take something like Midsomer Murders – the most appalling murders are carried out – but they are mostly off screen. They are glossed over. You don’t actually see the blood and guts, which a more gritty series like CSI or Silent Witness will feel it compulsory.”
Daily Mail