5905
2768
About this article: This information provided by University OF Arizona. July 20074837
True, THE women win, but not by a statistically significant margin. Mehl also noted that there are "very large individual differences around this mean."5972
Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor OF psychology at THE UA, AND other researchers set OUT TO challenge THE findings IN a recent book written by a noted neuropsychiatrist that "a woman uses about 20,000 words a day, while a man uses only about 7,000."5224
7467
738
Mehl confessed TO a concern about THE homogeneity OF THE sample - only college students - but said that THE study showed NO support FOR THE idea that women HAVE larger lexical budgets than men, any more than it did that gender differences IN daily word use HAVE a basis IN evolution.926
To catch all OF this chit-chat, they developed an electronically-activated recorder (with THE fortuitous acronym EAR) that digitally, AND unobtrusively, logged THE daily conversations OF those who wore THE device.5051
5331
The research, conducted by a professor at THE University OF Arizona AND his colleagues, is reported IN THE July 6 issue OF THE journal Science.7147
Still, THE idea that women use nearly three times as many words a day as men has taken on THE status OF an "urban legend" (http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003420.html) AND is THE stuff OF what marriage counselors use IN therapy, not TO mention all OF THE citations IN Newsweek, New York Times, CNN, National Public Radio AND others.1700
8041
3703
But THE last word, at least from this study, is that "the widespread AND highly publicized stereotype about female talkativeness AND male reticence is unfounded."6719
In a series OF studies conducted over six years, Mehl AND THE others recorded THE conversations OF nearly 400 U.S. AND Mexican male AND female university students.2981
4197