Women apologise more than men, study finds

A recent YouGov survey found the majority of men and women thought females apologised more

Women reportedly apologise more than men (Rex)

Women apologise more than men, according to a new survey.

A YouGov survey at the end of last month polled just over 1600 men and women to discover that 18 per cent of men felt that they apologised “too much” compared to just five per cent of women.

Just 13 per cent of men felt that women apologised “too much” while 21 per cent thought that females were not apologising enough.

Almost half of the women surveyed (44 per cent) felt that women did apologise too frequently with only 11 per cent saying women apologised “too little”.

More than 10 per cent more women (37 per cent) thought they personally apologised too frequently than men (26 per cent). 57 per cent of men estimated their frequency of apologising was “about right” compared to 46 per cent of women.

The results back-up a 2010 study in the US journal Psychological Science that posited “women have a lower threshold for what constitutes offensive behaviour” and therefore are more likely to say sorry.

Gender linguist Deborah Tannen has also suggested that men tend to apologise less frequently than women because “an apologiser is taking a one-down position.” Mrs Tannen noted that men may not apologise out of fear of admitting to being in the wrong.