Scientific explanation: Why are some men so confident when they are so ordinary?

My female compatriots, I dare say that you will never be able to guess what is going on in a man’s little head.

#01

"Are you attracted by my handsome face?"👇

#02

"You just glanced at me, you must be trying to seduce me!"

After reading the chat records, it is really funny. Man, who gave you the confidence? Can you give me some?

However, in fact, not only in terms of appearance, men are much more confident than women in all aspects.

According to a large study by researchers at the University of California, USA, men have higher levels of self-confidence than women from adolescence to middle age.

Taking work as an example, women will only apply for a promotion when they feel they meet 100% of the requirements for the promotion;

When men feel they meet 50% of the requirements, they will apply.

Therefore, the joke by talk show artist Yang Li describing men as “obvious but credulous” might be true!

The reasons for the confidence of "ordinary men" are quite complex, including physiological, psychological, evolutionary, social and other factors:

No.1

Physiological factors

Brain differences: Amygdala in men's brains is more 'dull'

The amygdala in the brain can generate and regulate fear, while the cingulate cortex can recognize errors and weigh choices.

★Research Findings★

Compared with men, women's amygdala is more easily activated and their cingulate cortex is larger, which leads to women's deeper memory of negative events such as failure and danger, so they are more cautious in doing things.

Men, on the other hand, are more "dull" in both areas and less sensitive to failure and mistakes, so they are more confident and like to take risks.

Hormone differences: Men produce more testosterone

Testosterone affects speed, strength, and muscle mass, making people more eager to compete and win. Men secrete about 10 times more testosterone than women, so they are more confident, such as daring to compete and express themselves.

Estrogen is the main driving hormone for women, making them more concerned about building and maintaining relationships, and less willing to take risks or engage in conflicts. Therefore, it also hinders self-expression to a certain extent.

No.2

Psychological factors

The more ignorant people are, the more confident they are. The less capable people are, the more likely they are to overestimate themselves. This is also known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. The reason why the "ordinary man" is confident may be because he "doesn't know that he doesn't know". When he grows up to be a master, he may be able to look at himself more objectively.

Picture | Photo Network

In fact, it is what the saying "high aspirations but low skills" means. This is a dangerous cognitive bias. People tend to overestimate their own abilities and are unable to objectively evaluate the abilities of others, which is extremely detrimental to personal development.

No.3

Evolutionary factors

A man’s self-confidence is engraved in his genes. Only by being thick-skinned can he get more opportunities.

Research published in Psychological Science shows that in the evolutionary process, the most embarrassing thing for men is not having the opportunity to reproduce. In order to mate with the opposite sex, they generally overestimate their sexual attractiveness, thereby increasing their chances of reproduction, and even if they fail in the end, they have nothing to lose.

This also explains why men always mistakenly think that women like him.

No.4

Social factors

Evaluation Criteria

Society has diverse criteria for evaluating men, such as appearance, financial strength, education, work ability, sense of humor, creativity... but when it comes to evaluating women, it is often based on appearance and figure.

This difference also gives men more confidence.

Educational differences

Boys love to play, jump up and down, and run since they were young. Parents and schools are more tolerant and understanding of them, believing that "it is normal for boys to be naughty". At the same time, boys receive more criticism from a young age, which also makes them more calm in facing mistakes and failures. However, most girls have been "good girls" since childhood, and their hearts are more fragile and soft. Differences in public opinion

Men's success is taken for granted, while women's success often faces more criticism, such as whether they take good care of their families, whether they really rely on their abilities, or whether their personalities are too strong.

Therefore, men’s “clearly believing in what they believe” may be the result of a combination of physiological, psychological, evolutionary, and social factors.

But “knowingly being confident” does not represent all men. Some men may also be “pretending” to be confident.

You are a very good B.

And there are some more details in it

On Zhihu, under the question "How do you view the mysterious self-confidence of some boys?", there is this answer:

Therefore, from another perspective, some men’s “acting out” of being confident may be a result of “acting”: in order to be better accepted, they have to pretend to be confident.

For example, if a man shows a lack of confidence at work, he may be questioned, suppressed, or considered incompetent. Studies have found that, given equal abilities, the salary of a man with a gentle personality is 18% lower than that of a man with a tough personality.

Therefore, when Yang Li complained about men being "ordinary but confident", many men became angry and instantly started a fierce war on the Internet: "When I am not confident, people think I am weak. When I show confidence, I am ridiculed as 'obviously ordinary'."

It can be seen that the expectations and sense of separation imposed on men by the contradictions in social cognition make life really difficult for men.

In many cases, a certain amount of self-confidence is not necessarily a bad thing.

For example, if you are more confident at work, you will have the confidence to fight for promotion and salary increase; if you are more confident in life, you will stay in a good mood, and your family and love relationships will be smooth, and your life will become more beautiful.

When a beauty blogger on Bilibili was asked why she was "confident about her looks despite having an ordinary appearance", she replied: Because I don't even know that I have an average appearance!

Picture | vivi is cute

Therefore, if you can live an "ordinary but confident" life, there is nothing to be mocked. Instead, we should encourage more people to find this state, no matter how tall or short, fat or thin, bald or fat you have, you can feel that you are handsome/beautiful.

Especially for the thousands of women who are prone to appearance anxiety, don’t lose weight or have plastic surgery because of other people’s comments and eyes. Stay healthy. You are the best you are now.

References:

1. Life Times: "Men are more confident than women because they are active, active and willing to conquer others". 2018-07-05

2. Life Times: "Men are more confident than women". 2021-02-23