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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women may like to chit chat, but it seems men may have an equal gift of gab.
For years researchers have claimed women talk more than men -- a common comparison is that women use 20,000 words per day, and men only use 7,000.
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But contrary to popular belief, a new study from the University of Texas at Austin finds women and men both use an average of 16,000 words a day.
Psychology researchers developed a way to record natural language using the electronically activated recorder (EAR). It tracks people's interactions, including conversations.
The study analyzed the transcripts of almost 400 university students in the United States and Mexico whose daily interactions were recorded using EAR between 1998 and 2004. The device automatically records for 30 seconds every 12.5 minutes. Participants did not know when the device was on and could not control it.
The new findings refute the popular stereotype, giving both sexes something to talk about. However, study authors point out one limitation in their study is that only university students were included, and the outcome may have been different had their been more varied demographics.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Science, published online July 5, 2007
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