Do Grandmothers Love Their Grandchildren or Their Children?

In every culture around the world today, it is said that grandmothers love their grandchildren more than their own children. A group of researchers from Emory University who wanted to explore this idea revealed what the truth was with their results: Grandmothers, indeed. he had more love for his grandchildren than for his 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. meanwhile brain functions 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, said that this mobility emotional empathy He explained that it happened in the part associated with it. 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 who participated 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 is grandparents was how brain function might differ between cultures. Rilling, who was at the beginning of the study, stated that this could be an interesting research.