Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Health and Fitness

    This controversial study suggests men have a higher IQ than women

    According to science

    Delphine Chui's avatar
    By Delphine Chui
    Published 8 May 2017 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Men Have Bigger Brains Than Woman
    (Image credit: Snap Stills/REX/Shutterstock)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    According to science

    Physically men have bigger brains than women.

    Fine.

    That totally makes sense.

    But, according to a new study at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, men's brain size, which is on average 14% larger than women's, also makes them more intelligent.

    You may like
    • I'm a Neuroscientist—6 Daily Habits to Prioritise Over Supplements to Support Brain Function and Healthy Ageing I'm a Neuroscientist—6 Daily Habits to Prioritise Over Supplements for Brain Function and Longevity
    • This Girl Can New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety
    • Woman meditating in the garden Exhaustion, Brain Fog, and Low Mood Aren't Always Burnout—Here's The Diagnosis Women Are Missing

    Ok, stay with us here.

    The university used MRI scans to identify the brain sizes of 875 volunteers and saw that women scored 3.75 less on general intelligence tests than men.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    But, it's quite a leap to assume this means men are smarter than women.

    We all know that men and women's brains are wired differently (haven't you heard!? They're from Mars and we're from Venus...) so you really have to take everything into account, from organisational skills, ability to read facial expressions, spatial navigation, vocabulary etc.

    What do you think? It seems as if size doesn't necessarily matter and that to make general intelligence a marker of someone's smartness as a whole is a little short-sighted.

    Delphine Chui
    Delphine Chui
    Social Links Navigation
    Read more
    I'm a Neuroscientist—6 Daily Habits to Prioritise Over Supplements to Support Brain Function and Healthy Ageing
    Health and Fitness I'm a Neuroscientist—6 Daily Habits to Prioritise Over Supplements for Brain Function and Longevity
    This Girl Can
    Fitness New Research Confirms Women's Biggest Barrier to Exercise Isn't Motivation—It's Safety
     
     
    Woman meditating in the garden
    Female health Exhaustion, Brain Fog, and Low Mood Aren't Always Burnout—Here's The Diagnosis Women Are Missing
    Wicker husband: Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Coleman in the new film Wicker
    Relationships Move Over Regular Men and AI Boyfriends, The “Wicker Husband” Has Arrived
     
     
    Latest in Health and Fitness
    Arsenal footballer and Lioness Chloe Kelly
    Health and Fitness Women in Sport 2026: Featuring Chloe Kelly, Elite Beauty Products, Grand Prix 2.0 and So Much More
    Eva Syti, yoga coach, ARC sauna leader and breathwork practitioner
    Wellbeing Most People Think They're Manifesting Correctly—But Usually Miss These 3 Essential Steps
     
     
    A woman lying on the floor scrolling on her phone
    Female health If You're Frazzled, Overworked and At Your Limit, These 5 Science-Backed Tips Can Help Avoid Burnout
    Health freelancer Anna Bartter treating friendship as a wellness habit: at a concert, at a bar, and with friends
    Wellbeing I Treated Friendship Like a Wellness Habit for Two Months—It Changed My Mental Health More Than I Expected
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
     
     
    Arsenal footballer and Lioness Chloe Kelly
    Health and Fitness Women in Sport 2026: Featuring Chloe Kelly, Elite Beauty Products, Grand Prix 2.0 and So Much More
    Mischa Anouk Smith on an astrology travel trip to Türkiye, where she got engaged less than 24 hours after a birth chart reading.
    Travel I Let Astrology Plan My Holiday—Less Than 24 Hours Later, I Was Engaged
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.