Sex Differences In Preferences Research Articles

Soft Skills–Willingness of Taekwondo Coaches in Croatia for Learning: Sex Differences

The paper deals with researching the preferences of taekwondo coaches related to education on soft skills, such as critical thinking and stress management, that have not been given attention in formal and traditional forms of education. The research was conducted on a sample of 102 taekwondo coaches. The results showed that taekwondo coaches show an interest in additional education that would include learning various soft skills. In addition to the types of soft skills, the paper also presents the coaches’ views on what is important to them in education, such as the price or the possibility of attending online programs. In this paper, the coaches’ preferences were analyzed according to sex. The results showed that there are no sex differences in preferences for learning soft skills. The results presented in this paper have strong practical implications, both for the further education of taekwondo coaches and for the development of lifelong training of coaches in Croatia in general.

Meta-analytic evidence against sex differences in infants' and toddlers' preference for prosocial agents.

Can well-documented gender differences in evaluations of prosocial versus antisocial actions found in childhood and adulthood be traced to sex differences in basic sociomoral preferences in infancy? We provide an answer to this question by meta-analyzing sex differences in preference for prosocial over antisocial agents in a set of 53 samples of American and European infants and toddlers aged between 4 and 32 months (N = 1,094). Although the original studies were agnostic to sex differences, we were able to retrieve the original data sets and estimate the effect of infants' and toddlers' sex on sociomoral preferences. Employing both a standard frequentist and a Bayesian approach to meta-analysis, we found strong evidence supporting the absence of sex differences in sociomoral preferences among infants and toddlers. We discuss the relevance of this finding for theories and descriptions of the emergence and developmental trajectory of gender differences in morality. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention Preferences of Adolescents with Overweight/Obesity.

Background: Behavioral lifestyle interventions are the foundation of adolescent obesity treatment. Tailoring an intervention using adolescent stakeholder engagement during the development process could improve intervention effectiveness. Methods: Adolescents with overweight/obesity ages 14-19 (n = 41) participated in 11 sex-specific focus groups (girls = 6, boys = 5) and were asked their preferences regarding who should lead the intervention and be involved, what the messaging of the program should be, how to make the program engaging and maintain participation, and how to best measure nutrition intake and activity. Transcripts were coded and analyzed for emergent themes. Results: Mean age was 16.0 ± 1.8 years and participants were racially/ethnically diverse. Adolescents preferred interventions that avoid a focus on "weight loss," and instead emphasize "healthy lifestyle," which represents a more comprehensive goal of targeting physical and mental well-being. Most participants indicated preferences for a relatable instructor with prior weight loss experience. Both sexes preferred optional parental involvement, as some parents were described as helpful, while others were perceived as a hindrance to success. Boys and girls identified incentives, engaging activities, and electronic communication as core components for engagement and retention, with girls emphasizing socialization and building relationships. Sex differences in preferences were observed. Girls had more concerns about intervention participation and preferred interventions to be sex stratified. Conclusions: Behavioral interventions to treat adolescent obesity should focus messaging/content on healthy lifestyles, rather than weight loss, and be sex stratified. Development and implementation of future behavioral interventions for adolescent obesity should consider tailoring to adolescent preferences when possible to improve feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness.

The Gender Wage Gap and the Fair Calculations Act

Abstract If enacted into law, the Fair Calculations Act would require forensic economists to ignore an injured party's gender when forecasting the loss in future earnings. We discuss how this would affect the size of awards for men and women, and some of the issues that would arise if the law is enacted. Of particular interest is the extent to which gender differences in earnings, earnings growth, and worklife expectancy are the result of sex discrimination in labor markets as opposed to sex differences in preferences. We present evidence that gender differences in human capital characteristics explain a large share of gender differences is in labor market outcomes, though there is considerable disagreement about how to interpret these results. We also show that gender differences in earnings are diminishing over time, but it is not likely that the gap will disappear in the near future. Finally, we discuss how forensic economists may have to rely on additional information when forecasting earnings if they are no longer allowed to use gender.

Experimental Evidence for Sex Differences in Sexual Variety Preferences: Support for the Coolidge Effect in Humans

We examined sex differences in preferences for sexual variety and novelty to determine whether the Coolidge effect plays a role in human sexuality. In two experimental studies that employed different manipulations, we found converging evidence that men showed a greater preference for variety in potential short-term mates than did women. In the first study, men (n = 281) were more likely than women (n = 353) to select a variety of mates when given the opportunity to distribute chances to have sex with different individuals in hypothetical situations. This sex difference was evident regardless of the targets' attractiveness and age. Further, men found it more appealing if their committed romantic/sexual partners frequently changed their physical appearance, while women reported that they modified their physical appearance more frequently than did men, potentially appealing to male desires for novelty. In the second study, when participants were given a hypothetical dating task using photographs of potential short-term mates, men (n = 40) were more likely than women (n = 56) to select a novel person to date. Collectively, these findings lend support to the idea that sex differences in preferences for sexual variety and novelty are a salient sex-specific evolved component of the repertoire of human mating strategies.

Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives—an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective—offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries.

The Glass Pyramid Hypothesis: Sex Differences in Preferences for Organizational Hierarchies

Worldwide there is an underrepresentation of women in top leadership roles in business and politics. Many explanations have been offered, including the glass ceiling and glass cliff hypotheses. Here we investigate an alternative explanation: The glass pyramid hypothesis, the idea that aspects of women’s versus men’s psychology may be less aligned with the hierarchical structures that are common to organizational contexts. We hypothesized that sex differences in overconfidence and risk-taking influence preferences for tall versus flat (egalitarian) hierarchical structures. In Study 1, participants (N=200) completed a survey assessing their preferences for flat versus tall hierarchical organizations. As expected, both sexes expressed a stronger preference for flat compared to tall hierarchies, yet women’s aversion to tall hierarchies was greater than that of men’s. In Study 2, participants (N=221) read job advertisements for a leader versus follower position in a tall versus flat organization and indicated their intention to apply. Compared to men, women were significantly less interested in applying for the leadership position in the tall hierarchical organization, and these differences were mediated by sex differences in overconfidence. Greater risk-taking among men relative to women, explained their stronger application intentions to leadership organizations in both flat and tall hierarchical organizations.

Are Sex Differences in Preferences for Physical Attractiveness and Good Earning Capacity in Potential Mates Smaller in Countries With Greater Gender Equality?

On average, women show stronger preferences for mates with good earning capacity than men do, while men show stronger preferences for physically attractive mates than women do. Studies reporting that sex differences in mate preferences are smaller in countries with greater gender equality have been interpreted as evidence that these sex differences in mate preferences are caused by the different roles society imposes on men and women. Here, we attempted to replicate previously reported links between sex differences in mate preferences and country-level measures of gender inequality in a sample of 3,073 participants from 36 countries (data and code available at https://osf.io/4sr5f/ ). Although women preferred mates with good earning capacity more than men did and men preferred physically attractive mates more than women did, we found little evidence that these sex differences were smaller in countries with greater gender equality. Although one analysis suggested that the sex difference in preferences for good earning capacity was smaller in countries with greater gender equality, this effect was not significant when controlling for Galton's problem or when correcting for multiple comparisons. Collectively, these results provide little support for the social roles account of sex differences in mate preferences.

Recommendations for a Culturally Salient Web-Based Physical Activity Program for African Americans

ABSTRACT Barriers to physical activity (PA) among African Americans (AA) have been extensively studied, yet there is limited research on innovative PA interventions designed to address them. In recent years, many studies have used the Internet to promote PA, but very few have included AA. In this study, we sought the input of AA focus groups to inform the development of a web-based Physical Activity for the Heart program for inactive AA. A qualitative design involving four focus groups stratified by sex and age was used to explore the needs and preferences for resources of AA to be included in the Physical Activity for the Heart program. We used an inductive approach to content analysis to analyze data using ATLAS.ti 7.5. Sixteen women and 10 men (age 30–65 yr) participated in the focus groups. Participants were obese (mean body mass index, 32.2 ± 5.4 kg·m−2) with below average confidence rating (mean 46.4% ± 19.1%) on the Barriers Self-Efficacy Scale. Three main themes emerged from the data: 1) need to see similar others engaging in PA (workout videos featuring models with relatable body size, age, and ethnicity), 2) flexible PA regimen (doable at any time/setting), and 3) age and sex differences in preferences for PA resources (religion, music, and intensity). These data suggest that specific intervention components, i.e., PA models who match participants’ profiles, flexibility, and tailoring to age/gender groups, could improve uptake of web-based PA programs designed for inactive AA. Therefore, a precision health approach needs to be used when designing interventions to promote PA among inactive AA.

The Gender Wage Gap and the Fair Calculations Act

If enacted as a law, the Fair Calculations Act would require forensic economists to ignore an injured party’s gender when forecasting the loss in future earnings. We discuss how this would affect the size of awards for men and women, and some of the issues that would arise if the law is enacted. Of particular interest is the extent to which gender-differences in earnings, earnings growth, and work-life expectancy are the result of sex-discrimination in labor markets as opposed to sex-differences in preferences. We present evidence that gender differences in human capital characteristics explain a large share of gender differences in in labor market outcomes, there is considerable disagreement about how to interpret the results. We also show that gender differences are diminishing over time, but it is not likely that the gap will disappear in the near future. Finally, we discuss how forensic economists may have to rely on additional information when forecasting earnings if they are no longer allowed to use gender.

Gender differences in preferences for psychological treatment, coping strategies, and triggers to help-seeking.

There is some evidence that men and women deal with stress in different ways; for example, a meta-analysis found that women prefer to focus on emotions as a coping strategy more than men do. However, sex differences in preferences for therapy is a subject little explored. A cross-sectional online survey. Participants (115 men and 232 women) were recruited via relevant websites and social media. The survey described therapies and asked participants how much they liked each. Their coping strategies and help-seeking behaviour were assessed too. Survey data were analysed using multiple linear regression. After familywise adjustment of the alpha for multiple testing to p<.0125, and controlling for other relevant variables, men liked support groups more than women did (β=-.163, p<.010), used sex or pornography to cope with stress more than women did (Exp[B]=.280, p<.0002), and thought that there is a lack of male-friendly options more than women did (Exp[B]=.264, p<.002). The majority of participants expressed no preference for the sex of their therapist, but of those who did, men were only slightly more likely to prefer a female therapist whereas women were much more likely to prefer females (p<.0004). Even after familywise adjustment, there were still more significant findings than would be expected by chance (p<.001, two-tailed). Although there are many similarities in the preferences of men and women regarding therapy, our findings support the hypothesis that men and women show statistically significant differences of relevance to clinical psychologists. Men are less inclined than women to seek help for psychological issues This study demonstrates that men and women show significant differences in some aspects of therapy, coping behaviour, and help-seeking It is possible that men would be more inclined to seek help if therapies catered more for men's preferences Practitioners can learn to improve the success of their practice by taking the gender of clients into account.

Sex Differences in Sport Remain When Accounting for Countries’ Gender Inequality

The spectator lek hypothesis argues that sex differences in preferences for sport largely stem from evolved predispositions and thus should be universal or near universal, whereas socioconstructivist hypotheses argue that such sex differences are entirely socially constructed and thus should vary as a function of a society’s gender inequality. To test these competing hypotheses, cross-national nested data were acquired from the International Social Survey Program (ss = 49,729, ncountries = 34). Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine whether sex differences in sport are universal or near universal when controlling for countries’ gender inequality. Findings indicate that even when controlling for gender inequality, sex differences remain in reporting sport as one’s most common activity, in watching sport, and in attending sport events and for agreeing with the statement that one plays sport to compete against others. Although this study was limited by the homogeneity of the sampled countries and the use of self-report measures, these findings nonetheless support the spectator lek hypothesis. Future research should examine case studies (e.g., matrilineal societies) that can specifically test the assumptions of the spectator lek hypothesis.

Sex differences in monoamines following amphetamine and social reward in adolescent rats.

Interaction with social peers may increase rates of drug self-administration, but a recent study from our laboratory showed that social interaction may serve as a type of alternative reward that competes with drug taking in adolescent male rats. Based on those previous results, the current study examined sex differences in preference for social interaction compared with amphetamine (AMPH) in adolescent rats using the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Similar to previous results with males, females showed AMPH CPP regardless of whether they were individual- or pair-housed. In contrast to males, however, females failed to show social CPP, and they did not prefer a peer-associated compartment over an AMPH-associated compartment in a free-choice test. In separate experiments, dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) metabolite levels were measured in adolescent males and females that were exposed acutely to peer interaction, no peer interaction, AMPH, or saline. In amygdala, levels of the DA metabolite dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) were altered more in response to peer interaction in males than females; in contrast, there was a greater amygdala DOPAC response to AMPH in females. Furthermore, there were greater changes in the 5-HT metabolite hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in females than in males following social interaction. These results indicate that the ability of peer interactions to reduce drug reward is greater in adolescent males than females, perhaps due to a greater ability of social cues to activate limbic reward mechanisms in males or a greater ability of AMPH cues to activate limbic reward mechanisms in females.

Life Values Associated with Life Satisfaction in the Turkish University Sample

The aim of this study is to display the life values that have a strong positive and significant relationship with life satisfaction in college students. In this context in Fall 2013-2014, Schwarz Values Scales and Life Satisfaction Scale were applied to 407 students from different departments of the Education Faculty in Mugla Sitki Kocman University. The results were studied in relation to the values, which had a meaningful relationship with life satisfaction, sex differences in preference of values, and with the priority of value preferences. According to this, the priority order of the values of the Turkish college students is self-direction, universalism, security, benevolence, comformity, achievement, tradition, simulation, hedonism, and power. A preference order such as self-transcendence, conservatism, openness to change, and self-enhancement is the topic in terms of value clusters. Moreover, girls gave importance to universalism, conformity, and security, while power is more important for boys. Lastly, whereas benevolence, conformity, hedonism, security, achievement, tradition, universalism, and power were found to be connected to each other, a significant relationship between life satisfaction, stimulation and self-authorship was not found. The results were studied with literature findings.

Sex-differences in preference for looking at the face or body in short-term and long-term mating contexts

Previous research has demonstrated that while women prefer to look at the face of men regardless of relationship context, men preferentially look at women's bodies for short-term (over long-term) relationship judgments. The current study examined how self-rated mate value and 'mating intelligence' correlate with the subjective importance of information from the face or body. In addition, given the apparent sex differences in these judgments, we investigated whether either sex is aware of how the opposite-sex prioritizes this. Participants were 266 undergraduate students/volunteers who completed an online survey, measuring preferences for information from the face or body in short-term or long-term contexts, and a range of self-rated mate value meas- ures. Information from the body was more important in short-term contexts for men (but not women), and correlated positively with mating strategy measures. While both sexes overestimated the opposite-sex's preference for looking at the body, women accurately perceived men's differ- ential investment in face or body across contexts, whereas men assumed that women make deci- sions similarly to themselves. Women might benefit more than men from awareness of opposite- sex preferences as this could afford the enhancement or reduction of cues to sexual availability.

Sex Differences in Preferences for Humor: A Replication, Modification, and Extension

Evolutionary-minded scientists have proposed that humor is a sexually selected trait in men that signals mate quality. Indeed, women tend to prefer men who make them laugh and men tend to prefer women who laugh at their jokes. However, it is unclear how robust this pattern is. Here we report a replication of one of the first studies (Bressler, Martin, and Balshine, 2006) to examine the sex differences in preferences for humor receptivity versus humor production. We replicate Bressler et al.'s (2006) findings that men prefer women who are receptive to their humor whereas women prefer men who produce humor. These findings held even after we modified Bressler et al.'s questionnaire for better conceptual validity. Furthermore, using a separate measure designed to assess trade-offs, we found that men viewed humor receptivity as a necessity and humor production as a luxury when they were asked to create an ideal long-term partner. For women, it was just the opposite. These results bolster the claim that sexual selection has shaped sex differences regarding preferences for a prospective mate's sense of humor and that what one means by "sense of humor" can vary.

Fear and loving in social hierarchy: Sex differences in preferences for power versus status

Famous thinkers throughout history from Nepos to Machiavelli have had strong opinions about whether it is better to be feared or loved. A related debate continues today about whether it is preferable to have power or status, a distinction between resources and respect. Across three studies, I find that men desire power more than women do, whereas women desire status more than men do. Furthermore, the extent to which hierarchical differences are seen as fair and legitimate increases the desirability of status, but power legitimacy does not affect the desirability of power. This research indicates that people perceive and value power and status distinctly, and provides additional evidence that confounding the two theoretically or empirically may distort our understanding of psychological responses to social hierarchy.

Sex Differences in Attraction to Familiar and Unfamiliar Opposite-Sex Faces: Men Prefer Novelty and Women Prefer Familiarity

Familiarity is attractive in many types of stimuli and exposure generally increases feelings of liking. However, men desire a greater number of sexual partners than women, suggesting a preference for novelty. We examined sex differences in preferences for familiarity. In Study 1 (N = 83 women, 63 men), we exposed individuals to faces twice and found that faces were judged as more attractive on the second rating, reflecting attraction to familiar faces, with the exception that men's ratings of female faces decreased on the second rating, demonstrating attraction to novelty. In Studies 2 (N = 42 women, 28 men) and 3 (N = 51 women, 25 men), exposure particularly decreased men's ratings of women's attractiveness for short-term relationships and their sexiness. In Study 4 (N = 64 women, 50 men), women's attraction to faces was positively related to self-rated similarity to their current partner's face, while the effect was significantly weaker for men. Potentially, men's attraction to novelty may reflect an adaptation promoting the acquisition of a high number of sexual partners.

Sexually dimorphic preference for altruism in the opposite sex according to recipient

Sexual selection may affect human altruistic behaviour. Evolutionary psychology predicts that human mate preference reflects sexual selection. We investigated sex differences in preference for opposite-sex altruism according to recipient because the reasons for altruistic behaviour differ according to the relationship between actor and recipient. We employed the Self-Report Altruism Scale Distinguished by the Recipient, which was newly developed to evaluate altruism among Japanese undergraduates. We asked participants to evaluate preferences for each item based on the recipient of the altruistic behaviour (family members, friends or acquaintances, and strangers). Preference for opposite-sex altruism differed according to recipient, gender of the participant, and relationship type, and several significant interactions were observed among these factors. We suggest that whereas women use a potential partner's altruism towards strangers as a costly signal of their resource-holding potential when choosing a mate, they consider altruism towards family when they are in a long-term relationship to ensure that resources are not allocated to non-relatives.

How the Dark Triad traits predict relationship choices

While previous studies have correlated the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) with a preference for short-term relationships, little research has addressed possible correlations with short-term relationship sub-types. In this online study using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk system (N=210) we investigated the manner in which scores on the Dark Triad relate to the selection of different mating environments using a budget-allocation task. Overall, the Dark Triad were positively correlated with preferences for short-term relationships and negatively correlated with preferences for a long-term relationship. Specifically, narcissism was uniquely correlated with preferences for one-night stands and friends-with-benefits and psychopathy was uniquely correlated with preferences for booty-call relationships. Both narcissism and psychopathy were negatively correlated with preferences for serious romantic relationships. In mediation analyses, psychopathy partially mediated the sex difference in preferences for booty-call relationships and narcissism partially mediated the sex difference in preferences for one-night stands. In addition, the sex difference in preference for serious romantic relationships was partially mediated by both narcissism and psychopathy. It appears the Dark Triad traits facilitate the adoption of specific mating environments providing fit with people’s personality traits.