In every culture around the world today, it is said that grandmothers love their grandchildren more than their own children. A group of researchers at Emory University who wanted to explore this idea revealed what the truth was with their results: Grandmothers did indeed have more affection for their grandchildren than their children.
Researchers recruited 50 grandmothers aged 3 to 12 with at least one grandchild. Here, the grandmothers were shown photos of children they did not know, their own children and grandchildren, respectively. In the meantime, brain functions were examined. The results showed an increase in brain function when they saw the photo of their grandchild.
They showed less empathy when they looked after their own children:
James Rilling, the head of the research, explained that this activity is experienced in the part of the brain associated with emotional empathy. He stated that this activity was aimed at feeling what grandmothers feel when they interact with their grandchildren. Although grandmothers showed cognitive empathy when caring for their child’s child, this emotional activation was less pronounced when caring for their own children.
Grandmothers feel their joy when they look at a photo of their grandchildren smiling, and their sadness when they look at a photo where they are sad. Although the research revealed an important result, it also had a limitation. The grandmothers participating in the study were mentally and physically healthy individuals.
On the other hand, this research has already opened the door to many questions about the social structure of societies. One of them was how the brain functions of grandparents and grandparents might differ between cultures. Rilling, who was at the beginning of the study, stated that this could be an interesting research.
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