Men's Motivations Research Articles

Attentional bias to alcohol-related cues: effects of menstrual cycle phase and sex differences.

A recent study by our group found that women displayed greater attentional bias to alcohol-related cues during the late versus early follicular phase in both sober and intoxicated states, suggesting a greater risk of excessive drinking among women during this phase. Changes in attentional bias as a function of menstrual cycle phase raise questions about potential sex differences in the relative consistency by which women and men display attentional bias to alcohol over time. The present study tested sex differences in attentional bias to alcohol by comparing the change in women's attentional bias from early to late follicular phase to that observed in men over the same period. Twenty-five men and 25 women aged 21-32 participated in a placebo-controlled study examining sex differences in the rewarding properties of alcohol. Participants completed measures of attentional bias to alcohol-related cues during two sessions following both 0.6g/kg alcohol and placebo. Test sessions occurred one week apart, and for female participants coincided with the early and late follicular phases. Men consistently displayed attentional bias to alcohol-related cues across sessions under both doses. By contrast, women showed attentional bias only during the late follicular phase, at a magnitude greater than that observed in men, and persistent under both doses. These findings highlight the potential role of sex and menstrual cycle phase in sensitizing drinkers to rewarding properties of alcohol-related cues. Men's motivation to drink may remain relatively consistent, whereas women may be most motivated during the late follicular phase.

Testosterone Reactivity and Parental Care Motivation in Men as a Function of Parental Status [Conference Presentation Abstract

Testosterone Reactivity and Parental Care Motivation in Men as a Function of Parental Status [Conference Presentation Abstract

Pacifism and peace activism in modern Britain: A history of the ‘peace studies problem’

AbstractIt is over 40 years since Ceadel defined interwar British pacifism as a ‘faith’. During that time, pacifism has had little political significance and the influential peace movement of the interwar years is now scarcely within living memory. Yet, what Margaret Thatcher once described as ‘the peace studies problem’ is a diverse and interdisciplinary field, and one in which scholarship, peace activism and mainstream politics are all closely intertwined. Feminist scholars and peace activists have queried the links between militarism and patriarchy; historians and ethicists have explored medical pacifism and have asked whether medicine is (or should be) a pacifist profession. More recently, scholars have looked at interwar pacifism through the lens of the Empire and have challenged the imperialist pacifist delusion. Despite pacifism's limited political influence, its history over the last 40 years has explored the beliefs and motivations of men and women struggling to respond to militarism and the threat of war.

Sexual Agreement Discussions Among Adolescent Sexual Minority Men in the USA.

Nearly two-thirds of new HIV infections are attributed to primary partners, necessitating a greater understanding of relationship context of HIV transmission among sexual minority men. Sexual agreements, which are the explicit decisions couples make about sexual behaviors allowed inside and outside of their relationship, have been primarily studied among adult sexual minority men. Little work has sought to understand how adolescent sexual minority men utilize and navigate sexual agreement conversations. In this qualitative study, we explored adolescent sexual minority men's motivations for having these conversations, how they define different types of agreements (e.g., monogamous, non-monogamous), and the topics most commonly discussed in their conversations. We conducted thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 partnered, HIV-negative, adolescent sexual minority men ages 15-19years. Participants reported similar reasons, definitions, and desires for creating sexual agreements as those reported in the adult literature. Novel to this population was the influence of stigma and heterosexism on the participants' choice of sexual agreement type. Like adult sexual minority men, participants used sexual agreement conversations to respond to life events; however, the adolescents in our sample, when talking with their partners, led with the context of developmentally specific events such as leaving for college or attending a school dance. Those with more relationship experience often described having intentional, explicit sexual agreement conversations. Study findings suggest that content focused on sexual agreements is important for HIV prevention interventions designed with adolescent sexual minority men, especially young men who have less relationship experiences.

Tailor Made: A Pilot Virtual Weight Loss Intervention Individually Tailored for African American Men.

This study tests the acceptability and feasibility of the first virtual weight loss study individually tailored for middle-aged African American men. Tailor Made is a 3-month randomized controlled pilot of a weight loss intervention that included 58 overweight or obese African American men (mean age of 50.4; SD = 7.9). Control group participants received a Fitbit activity tracker and Bluetooth-enabled scale and copies of the self-led Tailor Made curriculum. Intervention group participants received the same Fitbit, Bluetooth-enabled scale, and curriculum and also participated in weekly, 45-minute virtual small group, professional-led education sessions using the Tailor Made curriculum and received three SMS text messages weekly: (a) a message individually tailored on African American Manhood that links men's values, goals, and motivation to health-promoting behavior; (b) a goal-tracking message to monitor physical activity, healthier eating, and lifestyle changes; and (c) a reminder 24 hours before their session. Participation rates in weekly small group sessions, randomization, and attendance at the assessments suggest that Tailor Made was feasible and acceptable. Only among intervention group participants, we found a small and significant decrease in BMI between baseline and final. In addition, active minutes of physical activity decreased for the control group while active minutes for the intervention group remained steady throughout the intervention. In sum, we demonstrated that a virtual, individually tailored weight loss intervention is feasible and acceptable to African American men. Participants valued the convenience of a virtual intervention, but there were a number of ways we may be able to enhance the potential benefits of this approach.

Assessing Community Attitudes Towards Home-Based Male Caregivers for Daycare Children

This study explored community attitudes toward home-based male caregivers for daycare children in Ogbomoso, Nigeria. The aim was to understand perspectives on using male versus female caregivers. Respondents included equal numbers of married men and women aged 30-50 years old. The study asked about their willingness to use male caregivers, reasons behind their decision, expected impacts on children, and need for societal change. The study took place in Ogbomoso South and North Local Government of Nigeria, where 32 parents and prospective parents were surveyed about their attitudes toward home-based male caregivers for daycare children. A qualitative approach was used, with accidental sampling. Inductive thematic analysis elicited key themes shaping attitudes and norms. A prevalent theme was associating caregiving with inherent female capabilities and maternal duties - many felt women naturally provide superior nurturing and care while men lack these innate aptitudes. Alongside this was strong distrust of males with children, stemming from abuse and misconduct fears. However, some felt gender irrelevant, professing egalitarian ideals. But pursuing equality conflicted with lingering scepticism about men's care motivations. It's apparent that parents lack a framework for choosing caregivers yet choose for their children. Such a framework could help bridge the gender inequality gap in caregiving.

Preliminary evidence for neck musculature in shaping functional stereotypes of men's relationship motives.

Neck musculature is reliably diagnostic of men's formidability and central to several inferences of their physical prowess. These inferences facilitate stereotypes of men's social value from which perceivers estimate their abilities to satisfy reproductive goals related to mate acquisition and parental care. Participants evaluated men's interest in various mating and parenting strategies, wherein men varied in the size of visible neck musculature through trapezii and sternocleidomastoids for perceivers to identify potential reproductive interests and goals. Large trapezii elicited perceptions of men as more effective at protecting offspring, albeit at the expense of nurturance and interest in long-term pair bonds. Results extend previous findings implicating formidability as central to relationship decisions by considering a novel modality.

Drinking to Cope Mediates the Association between Dyadic Conflict and Drinking Behavior: A Study of Romantic Couples during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred public health measures to reduce viral spread. Concurrently, increases in alcohol consumption and conflict in romantic partnerships were observed. Pre-pandemic research demonstrated a bidirectional association between couples' conflict and drinking. Recent research shows one's drinking motives (proximal predictors of drinking behavior) can influence another person's drinking in close relationships. It is possible that individuals are drinking to cope with distress following romantic conflict. The current study examined 348 cohabitating couples during the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. Our analyses examined coping motives as a mediator between dyadic conflict and drinking behavior using actor-partner interdependence models. Results showed that conflict was associated with greater reports of own drinking in gendered (distinguishable) and nongendered (indistinguishable) analyses through coping motives. Further, in mixed-gender couples, men partners' coping motives predicted less drinking in women, while women partners' coping motives predicted marginally more drinking in men. Partner effects may have been observed due to the increased romantic partner influence during the COVID-19 lockdown. While these results suggest that men's coping motives may be protective against women's drinking, more concerning possibilities are discussed. The importance of considering dyadic influences on drinking is highlighted; clinical and policy implications are identified.

Motivation of Men and Women to Join the Armed Forces

The armed forces are traditionally the domain of men, however, in recent decades this trend has changed slightly - there has also been an interest from the women´s side in entering the field of the national defence. The article is based on the practice of the Czech Armed Forces, where the representation of women has been relatively stable for many years - around 13%. The purpose of the article was to find out how significantly selected factors reflecting the specifics of the military profession motivate young men and women to join the army, and on the contrary, discourage them from doing so. The aim was then to identify whether there are differences between motivational aspects of men and women. The data was obtained in the form of a semi-structured questionnaire, which was completed by 179 respondents – the first-year military students of the University of Defence, the only military institution of higher education of the Czech Armed Forces. No statistically significant difference was found between the motivation of men and women based on their perception of financial evaluation, employee benefits and position of the Czech Armed Forces in society. However, for several factors notable differences were recorded. Participation in foreign military missions, working with military technology, working in the field, interest in history and interest in warfare play more important role in motivation to join the army for male soldiers than for female soldiers, while women are proven to be motivated by interpersonal relations more than men. Moreover, in relation to aspects causing demotivation from joining the army, female soldiers tend to be discouraged by risk of injury, risk of loss of life, possibility of being sent to a foreign military operation and fear of bullying much more than male soldiers.

Pengaruh Pendidikan Kesehatan Kontrasepsi Pria terhadap Motivasi Pria PUS menjadi Akseptor KB Vasektomi

Awareness of men becoming KB (Family Planning) acceptors is still low, influenced by the low knowledge of men about family planning and male contraceptive methods, which are still limited, but also influenced by the lack of socialization and promotion of male family planning, the perception that family planning is only for women, the quality of family planning services inadequate, men's lack of access to information about contraception and limited information about the role of men in family planning. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of health education on male contraception on the motivation of EFA men to become vasectomy family planning acceptors. This research method is a Quasi Experiment One Group Pretest Posttest Design on 35 EFA men (Pupes of Childbearing Age) who are not family planning acceptors. Data was collected by distributing questionnaires to assess men's motivation for EFA. The statistical test used is the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. Samples were taken as many as 35 people. The results of this study indicate that most respondents (54.3%) still have low motivation before being given health education about vasectomy contraception. Most of the respondents (62.9%) already have high motivation after being given health education about vasectomy contraception. Conclusion: there is an effect of health education on the motivation of EFA men to use vasectomy contraception with p value 0.000 <0.05.

Maximizing Women's Motivation in Domains Dominated by Men: Personally Known Versus Famous Role Models.

Two studies (n = 1,522) examined the impact of role models in sport and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) domains where gender discrimination has resulted in a lack of high-profile women. We examined the role of gender matching of personally known and famous exemplars on women's and men's motivation. Participants nominated a woman or man in sport (Study 1) or STEM (Study 2) who was either famous or known to them personally; they then indicated the extent to which they perceived this individual to be a motivating role model. Women and men were more motivated by personally known (vs. famous) role models. For famous exemplars, both women and men were most motivated by same-gender models (Studies 1 and 2). For personally known exemplars, men were similarly motivated by same- and other-gender models (Studies 1 and 2), but women were more motivated by same-gender models in sport (Study 1). Mediation analyses indicated that personally known (vs. famous) exemplars and, for women, same- (vs. other-) gender exemplars, were perceived as more attainable future selves and consequently were more motivating (Study 2). Given that there are fewer famous women in domains dominated by men, it is important to know if women can be inspired by personally known rather than famous individuals. These studies provide insight into the kinds of exemplars that are most motivating for women and may serve as a guide for educators and other practitioners seeking to provide the best role models for girls and women in domains dominated by men. Additional online materials for this article are available on PWQ's website athttp://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/03616843231156165.

Men’s Gender Norms and Gender-Hierarchy-Legitimizing Ideologies: The Effect of Priming Traditional Masculinity Versus a Feminization of Men’s Norms

Contemporary evidence suggests that masculinity is changing, adopting perceived feminine traits in the process. Implications of this new masculine norm on gender relations remain unclear. Our research aims to better understand the influence of changing masculine norms on men’s endorsement of gender-hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies. Based on Precarious Manhood Theory and Social Role Theory, we conducted two quasi-experimental studies (N = 412) in which we first assessed heterosexual men's motivation to protect traditional masculinity. Then, we informed them that men’s gender norms are becoming more feminine (feminization norm condition) or are remaining masculine in a traditional sense (traditional norm condition). In the third (baseline-control) condition, participants received no information about men’s gender norms. Finally, we assessed the extent to which participants endorsed gender-hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies, namely sexism (Study 1) and masculinist beliefs (Study 2). Results showed that men who were less motivated to protect traditional masculinity were less likely to endorse gender-hierarchy-legitimizing ideologies when exposed to the feminization and control conditions compared to the traditional norm condition. The implications of these findings for gender equality and gender relations are discussed.

Understanding gay tourists’ involvement and loyalty towards Thailand: The perspective of motivation-opportunity-ability

Gay tourists are increasingly important for destination segment marketing, but little attention has been paid to gay tourism in Asian destinations. This research focuses on the internal and external factors of gay travelers that make them travel in Thailand and explores their interactions with destination loyalty. We first conduct semi-structured interviews to explore the motivation, opportunity and ability (MOA) of gay tourists traveling to Thailand and then integrate the concepts of involvement and loyalty into MOA theory to explain destination loyalty formation using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that gay men's travel motivation and ability have positive relationships with their destination involvement and destination loyalty, while their travel opportunity has a positive relationship only with their destination loyalty. Additionally, gay men's destination involvement positively influences their destination loyalty. These findings provide valuable practical implications for developing gay destinations and promoting gay tourism in Asia.

Gender and the commission of violent street robbery in Liverpool, 1850–1870. A historic criminology approach

Instrumental studies of gender and the accomplishment of violent robbery in the United States (Miller, 1998) United Kingdom (Brookman, Mullins, Bennett, & Wright, 2007) demonstrated that whilst men's and women's motivations for committing street robbery were similar – to fund addiction, hedonism or to supplement meagre incomes – male and female robbers commissioned the offences in markedly different ways. By offering a historical counterpart to modern criminological enquiries, this article examines gender and the enactment of street robbery in Liverpool between 1850 and 1870. By drawing on a database of 260 cases, I argue, in line with the patterns of offending by men and women uncovered in contemporary UK and US criminological studies, that men and women committed street robberies in ways that were shaped by the gender-stratified nature of street life and structured by broader gender and class inequalities. In doing so, the article reflects on how historical criminological approaches can develop our understandings of gender and violent crime across time and place and hopes to encourage future interdisciplinary work in historical criminology, gender and violent crime.

Gender and Participation in Open Source Software Development

Open source software represents an important form of digital infrastructure as well as a pathway to technical careers for many developers, but women are drastically underrepresented in this setting. Although there is a good body of literature on open source participation, there is very little understanding of the participation trajectories and contribution experiences of women developers, and how they compare to those of men developers, in open source software projects. In order to understand their joining and participation trajectories, we conducted interviews with 23 developers (11 men and 12 women) who became core in an open source project. We identify differences in women and men's motivations for initial contributions and joining processes (e.g. women participating in projects that they have been invited to) and sustained involvement in a project. We also describe unique negative experiences faced by women contributors in this setting in each stage of participation. Our results have implications for diversifying participation in open source software and understanding open source as a pathway to technical careers.

Effects of supervised high-intensity interval training on motivational outcomes in men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance: results from a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundUnderstanding the motivational effects of supervised aerobic high-intensity interval training (HIIT) may help men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance initiate and maintain exercise behavior, however, few studies have addressed this question. This report explored exercise motivation in men with prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance participating in a randomized exercise trial.MethodsThe Exercise during Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer (ERASE) trial randomized 52 men with prostate cancer on active surveillance to the HIIT exercise group or the usual care (UC) group. The exercise program was supervised aerobic HIIT conducted three times per week for 12 weeks. The motivation questions were developed using the Theory of Planned Behavior and included motivational constructs, anticipated and experienced outcomes, and barriers to HIIT during active surveillance.ResultsThe HIIT group attended 96% of the planned exercise sessions with 100% compliance to the exercise protocol. Motivation outcome data were obtained in 25/26 (96%) participants in the HIIT group and 25/26 (96%) participants in the UC group. At baseline, study participants were generally motivated to perform HIIT. After the intervention, the HIIT group reported that HIIT was even more enjoyable (p < 0.001; d = 1.38), more motivating (p = 0.001; d = 0.89), more controllable (p < 0.001; d = 0.85), and instilled more confidence (p = 0.004; d = 0.66) than they had anticipated. Moreover, compared to UC, HIIT participants reported significantly higher perceived control (p = 0.006; d = 0.68) and a more specific plan (p = 0.032; d = 0.67) for performing HIIT over the next 6 months. No significant differences were found in anticipated versus experienced outcomes. Exercise barriers were minimal, however, the most often reported barriers included pain or soreness (56%), traveling to the fitness center (40%), and being too busy and having limited time (36%).ConclusionMen with prostate cancer on active surveillance were largely motivated and expected significant benefits from a supervised HIIT program. Moreover, the men assigned to the HIIT program experienced few barriers and achieved high adherence, which further improved their motivation. Future research is needed to understand long-term exercise motivation and behavior change in this setting.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT03203460. Registered on June 29, 2017.

Estratetraenol increases preference for large sexual reward but not impulsivity among heterosexual males

There is increasing evidence suggesting that estratetraenol, a human chemosignal deemed a putative sex pheromone, affects social cognition and sexual behavior. The present study investigates the effects of estratetraenol on preference for sexual rewards in heterosexual males. Seventy-six male participants received either estratetraenol or a control carrier in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-participant design. Participants underwent a sexual delay discounting task, in which they were asked to make a choice between a variable larger-later option (i.e., waiting longer to view a sexual picture for a longer duration) and a smaller-sooner option (i.e., waiting for a fixed shorter period of time to view the same picture for a shorter duration). Results revealed that, compared to the control solution, estratetraenol selectively increases preference for larger-later sexual rewards. Computational modelling showed that estratetraenol has no observable influence on impulsivity, as indexed by the discounting rate. These findings suggest that estratetraenol could increase men's sexual motivation, possibly facilitating behavioral processes associated with the pursuit of a sexual partner.

Views of men with Parkinson's disease regarding physical activity health messaging

BackgroundMany men with Parkinson's Disease (PD) do not meet the recommended levels of physical activity (PA) for health benefits. Tailored, meaningful, and culturally sensitive PA health messages may be a catalyst to shape men's motivations toward participation. ObjectiveWe explored the views of New Zealand (NZ) men with PD about existing PA health messages, and how these could be adapted to be more effective. MethodsThis qualitative study recruited six community dwelling, regularly physically active, NZ European men with PD (aged 54–69 years, 2–18 years post-diagnosis) from a community exercise class in Canterbury, NZ. Participants engaged in semi-structured interviews which were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed inductively for themes. ResultsParticipants expressed that effective PA health messages should reflect men's motivations for PA which included physical and mental well-being and social connection. Inclusive, positive, and relatable language and imagery were considered crucial PA message communication strategies. Participants viewed health professionals' PA advice as superficial and unhelpful; however, celebrities with PD were considered inspirational messengers. Messages endorsed by trustworthy sources, such as the Parkinson's Society, were perceived to enhance the credibility. ConclusionsEffective PA messages should be gain framed and tailored to the target audience. We recommend health professionals provide comprehensive PA advice or consider onward referral. Future research which uses a co-design participatory methodology to collaborate with men with PD from culturally diverse backgrounds and represent all stages of PA behaviour change is recommended to provide comprehensive insights for meaningful, effective, and culturally sensitive PA health messaging.

Implementation Paper on Web Based Mid-Day-Meal Analysis

Abstract: The Mid Day Meal Programme (MDMP) is a welfare programme that is being operated through the country and involves millions of children, crores of public funds, and thousands of officials manning the programme. While there can no denying that the programme needs to be monitored with an eagle’s eye for lacunae, discrepancies and malpractices, it is equally imperative that each and every well-intentioned effort, however miniscule, needs to be appreciated, rewarded and publicized for the simple reason that man motivation is a simple but a highly effective tool that can rev up the gargantuan lumbering machinery involved in the implementation of MDMP to generate unprecedented results, as expected of this populist programme. Keywords: Mid-Meal, Government schemes, School, Children, Database connection

Sexual harassment training and men's motivation to work with women

With the #MeToo movement generating renewed public attention to the problem of sexual misconduct, it is an important time to assess how sexual harassment training affects men's motivation to work with women. We conducted an experiment in which we exposed undergraduate men to sexual harassment policy training and then assessed their motivation to work with a female partner on a decision-making task. We employed a 2×2 design in which participants were randomly assigned to a policy condition (sexual harassment policy or control) and a team role (leader or subordinate). We found that policy training did not affect whether participants chose a female or male partner. However, we found that policy training led male participants to rate female partners as more dissimilar to them and that leadership status moderated the effect of policies on men's expressed anxiety about working with a female partner. Findings have implications for reducing sexual harassment and gender inequality.