Researcher Dr Zachary Estes, of Warwick University, said: ‘Of course, simply because we have found a significant sex difference in how men and women categorise does not mean that one method is intrinsically better than the other.
‘For instance, male doctors may be more likely to quickly and confidently diagnose a set of symptoms as a disease.
‘Although this brings great advantages in treating diseases early, it obviously has massive disadvantages if the diagnosis is actually wrong. In many cases, a more open approach to categorising or diagnosing would be more effective.’
