Researchers discovered that women aged 25 to 65—a phase known as early and middle adulthood—tend to use about 3,000 more words each day compared to men.
The idea that women are far more talkative than men is a common belief across various cultures. However, a well-known study by researchers at the University of Arizona in 2007 challenged this notion, indicating that both genders speak approximately the same number of words each day—around 16,000.
A more extensive follow-up study reveals a clearer perspective, suggesting that while women may generally be more talkative, this trend only appears during specific stages of life.
“There’s a prevalent cross-cultural belief that women speak significantly more than men,” stated Colin Tidwell, co-lead author and a clinical psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona. “Our research aimed to test this belief empirically.”
The findings indicate that women in the 25 to 65 age bracket use roughly 3,000 more words per day than their male peers. The study did not find notable gender differences in other age groups, such as adolescence (ages 10 to 17), emerging adulthood (ages 18 to 24), and older adulthood (65 and above).
Additionally, researchers noted a general trend of decreasing verbal communication, which they suspect is connected to the increasing use of digital communication methods. These results are published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Revisiting a long-standing query
In the original 2007 study, U of A psychologist Matthias Mehl explored the common belief that women talk more than men by examining data from 500 participants—both male and female—who were equipped with a portable recording device known as the EAR (Electronically Activated Recorder), which recorded snippets of conversations at random times.
With these recordings, Mehl estimated daily word counts for each participant. The analysis showed no significant difference in word usage between genders, a surprising result that garnered national media attention after its publication in the journal Science. Nevertheless, the study faced criticism for its limitations, including a mostly college-aged demographic which primarily consisted of residents from Austin, Texas.
Eighteen years later, Mehl, along with collaborators including Tidwell; Valeria Pfeifer, a U of A postdoctoral researcher; and Alexander Danvers, a former postdoctoral researcher at U of A, aimed to replicate the findings with a larger and more diverse sample. They examined 630,000 EAR recordings across 22 studies in four different countries, with participants aged 10 to 94, totaling 2,197 individuals—four times the number of the original study.
A significant gender difference was found only in the 25 to 64 age range, which had been absent in the earlier college student study. Women in this age group spoke an average of 21,845 words per day, while men used 18,570 words.
Though the researchers are unsure why women are generally more talkative during these years, they propose that this period often coincides with child-rearing, where women, typically taking on the role of primary caregiver, may communicate more with children than their male counterparts.
“Differences in child-rearing roles might explain this trend,” explained Mehl, senior study author and a professor in the U of A Department of Psychology. “If hormonal factors were the main driver, we would expect to see substantial differences in emerging adults’ communication as well. Similarly, if societal changes were a factor, we should see increasing gender differences in older groups. However, that was not observed.”
Communication is declining for both genders
While women may be more chatty than men during some life phases, it’s essential to acknowledge the wide variability in communication styles among individuals of both genders. The participant who spoke the least—an estimated 100 words a day—was a man, whereas the most talkative participant—also male—spoke over 120,000 words.
“Individual differences among us are far greater than the general differences between genders,” Mehl noted.
Across all study participants, regardless of age or gender, it was observed that the average daily word count has dwindled over time. Data collected from 2005 to 2018 indicated a decline from roughly 16,000 words daily to about 13,000.
“We analyzed the data to see if there was a correlation between the year it was collected and found that, on average, about 300 spoken words are disappearing each year,” said study co-lead author Pfeifer.
Further research is necessary to understand the reasons behind this decline, but Mehl suggests that the rise of digital communication—such as texting and social media—likely plays a significant role.
Mehl emphasized the need for additional studies to explore how communication levels and social interactions impact health and well-being. He is collaborating on a project to create a “SocialBit,” akin to a Fitbit but designed to track daily conversation minutes without recording the dialogues, using technology that distinguishes ambient sounds as conversations.
“It’s intriguing that we have metrics for sleep and exercise, but we lack any real understanding of how much social interaction we should be having,” he commented. “Strong evidence indicates that socializing is just as important to health as physical activity and sleep. It’s simply another vital health behavior.”
