01 October 2011

Learning the wrong lesson

So a study came out that said that men cooperate with each other better than women do.

  • there was no statistical difference between the sexes when it came to cooperating when faced with a social dilemma,
  • however men cooperated better with other men than women cooperate with each other; and,
  • women cooperated more than men when interacting with the opposite-sex.
The lead author of the study goes explains it thus:
“The argument is that throughout human evolutionary history, male coalitions have been an effective strategy for men to acquire resources, such as food and property,” said Balliet. “Both hunting and warfare are social dilemmas in that they firmly pit individual and group interests against each other. Yet, if everyone acts upon their immediate self-interest, then no food will be provided, and wars will be lost. To overcome such social dilemmas requires strategies to cooperate with each other.”
Evolutionary theory may also explain why women are less cooperative with other women when faced with a social dilemma, according to Balliet. “Ancestral women usually migrated between groups and they would have been interacting mostly with women who tended not to be relatives, and many were co-wives,” he said. “Social dynamics among women would have been rife with sexual competition.”

She's cooperative.

 So the Forbes "contributor" Victoria Pynchon concludes that since this is a result of a biological drive, women not only can, but should change it:

There you have it, ladies. Proof that we are more competitive with one another than we are with men. This explains so much, including the bitter complaints of women in business and the professions about the lack of support they feel from their female colleagues.
This is something we can change. It is completely within our control. And if you say, I’m cooperative but she’s a bitch, then you have some conflict resolution work to do.
Who want's to take bets on how well this will work?  And also on whether or not this will somehow be blamed on big mean men?  No one?  Kind of thought so.

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