“I get it. Maybe women apologize a lot,” she said. “But the counterpoint is, why don’t men apologize more? Maybe we should stop thinking of apologizing as such a bad thing.”

A series of studies found that women apologize more than men because they report committing more offenses than men. “This finding suggests that men apologize less frequently than women because they have a higher threshold for what constitutes offensive behavior,” the study’s researchers concluded. “It takes a more serious offense for men to think of an apology as deserved,” Karina Schumann, one of the study’s researchers, said in an email. In another study, Dr. Schumann and her colleagues gave men and women various hypothetical offenses to commit. Men rated the offenses as less severe and less deserving of an apology than women. “These findings supported our suspicion that men apologize less often because they are less likely to think they’ve offended anyone,” Dr. Schumann said.

In other words, women — and surely frequent apologizers in general — seem to be more empathic. If you value empathy, this finding isn’t necessarily bad news. “I do believe that deliberately withholding all apologies, regardless of your gender, would not be beneficial,” Dr. Schumann added.

Still, there are practical reasons you might want to curb an apology habit that have nothing to do with your purported lack of confidence. In her book, “Talking From 9 to 5,” Dr. Tannen writes about the problems women face when they apologize, particularly in the workplace.

For example, apologetic language can get in the way of negotiating, which requires assertiveness. Even if you feel confident when you apologize, others may view it as weak. In that case, the apologetic language serves as a barrier between you and your request.

“I do actually apologize less in emails, especially in a work context,” Ms. Burry added about her default response to apologize in professional situations. “I give my email a quick scan before I hit send and look for instances in which I’m unnecessarily apologizing. I ask myself, ‘Is this performing a function or is it just making the email longer than it needs to be?’”

There’s an added problem: Women can also face backlash when they don’t apologize.

“Women are in a double bind. If we talk in a way that people think is self-effacing, like apologizing a lot, or not talking up what we’re good at, or acting like we’re better than everyone else, we’re underestimated at work,” Dr. Tannen said. “But if you talk in a way that you’re confident, then you’re seen as too aggressive.”