Why Men (Yes, Men) Are Better Multitaskers

The Huffington Post:

We should all be forgiven for believing that women are good at multitasking, and far superior to men. After all, that’s the popular image that has been in circulation for some time. In this depiction, a vibrant 30-something woman, still in her business suit after a demanding day at the office, is cooking a gourmet meal, balancing a toddler on her hip, all while talking on the phone, presumably raising money for a local charity. Popular books, like Why Men Can Only Do One Thing at a Time and Women Never Stop Talking, reinforce the idea that men are incapable of matching women’s cognitive balancing act.

The problem with this popular image is that there is not a shred of evidence to back it up. It may be true that working mothers must try to juggle a lot more than men do day to day, but there is no proof that they do it successfully. Indeed, nobody has rigorously examined the real question, which is: How skilled are we — men and women — at carrying out several mental tasks at once, without making a lot of mistakes?

Read the whole story: The Huffington Post