MONTREAL: Women often complain that men are stupidly competitive — and researchers have found that they might be right.

A study showed that boys will compete just for the sake of it, regardless of whether there is anything to be gained. Girls on the other hand will not waste their time on competition unless the prize is worth it. They also appeared more sensitive to the feelings of their competitors.

A team of Canadian researchers led by Rosanne Roy, from McGill University in Montreal, recruited 40 groups of four boys or four girls to play a specially designed game with two sets of rules.

The children, aged five to 10, had to thread beads on a stick until it was full, taking beads from either a common pot or another player.

One set of rules meant everyone would eventually win, making competition pointless. Another allowed for only one winner, so competing made sense. The girls spent more time watching the reactions of their competitors and responding to them, New Scientist magazine reported.

“They would watch the facial expression of their opponent as they decided whether or not to take the bead,” said Roy.

“Sometimes they would decide not to. Older girls wasted no effort on competition, except when it paid off. But boys were eager to take beads from their rivals even when there was no point. It was way too much fun to take from others,” Roy said.—dpa