A new study has found that there genuinely are numerous subtle genetic differences between men’s and women’s brains.
The finding, made at Uppsala University in Sweden, and published in the journal PLoS Genetics, could help explain some of the differences in the way mental traits and skills are said to differ between the sexes. For example, women are generally considered more compassionate and better at empathising, whilst men are more prone to aggression and risk-taking.
These gender differences are widely accepted, but natural and social scientists have long argued about the extent to which they are rooted in our underlying biology, or whether they are learnt through social roles.
Hundreds of genes are switched on and off differently within the cerebral cortex, which is the grey matter involved in memory, thought, reasoning, attention and language.
The study showed that while there are no sex differences in general intelligence, and both sexes share the same basic genes, there are key differences in their expression or activity. Women tend to have stronger visual memories, while men are more proficient at visualising objects when rotated in space. It has been suggested that this may reflect the way men generally like to navigate by reading maps, whilst many women prefer to remember landmarks.
The study, led by Dr Elena Jazin, does not directly prove that any of these traits are related to differences in gene activity, but it does show a contrasting genetic architecture of male and female brains that could plausibly contribute.
The researchers said:
While the two sexes have the same basic genes, many of these are more active in the brains of only one sex. These gender-specific patterns of gene expression could affect many aspects of behaviour
Although this doesn’t prove we are programmed to think in a certain way, it leaves the possibility open. And the autors wrote:
The obvious question to follow is whether or not these signatures of sex in the brain have physiological significance for brain physiology and/or behaviour
Our results suggest that variation in expression of genes in the brain may be an important component of behavioural variation within as well as between species.
Dr Jazin also noted:
Knowledge about gender differences is important for many reasons. For example, this information may be used in the future to calculate medical dosages, as well as for other treatments of diseases or damage to the brain.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, of the University of Cambridge, who had suggested the existence of “empathising-type” and “systemising-type” brains commented:
This is a very original study, testing which genes are expressed differently in males and females across different primate species. It confirms the supposition that genetic sex differences are expressed not just in the secondary sexual characteristics in the body, but in the brain.
Finding genes that are conserved across species points to the evolution of these genetic sex differences, and finding them in the brain suggests that they may in part influence the way the mind works, and in part influence our behaviour.
The work could also explain sex variations in mental health and neurological diseases, such as depression and Alzheimer’s.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Biology at 2:30 AM EDT
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Self-styled ‘on-line fashion bible’ cosmopolitan.co.uk has produced some rather surprising information, that seems to paint women as selfish imbeciles, obsessed with Manolo Blahnik heels and H&M skirts.
According to a new survey of 778 Cosmopolitan readers aged between 19 and 45, 74% of respondents confessed that thoughts of splashing out on shoes, bags and dresses pop into the heads every 60 seconds. This compares to the dubious but commonly-held belief that men think about sex every 52 seconds.
Even more surprisingly, half of the women surveyed claimed they preferred ‘retail therapy’ to spending time with their partner, and nearly as many confessed to keeping their shopping escapades secret from their partner, so as to hide their level of spending.
These figures mean that if we assume an average sleep of eight hours a night, then thoughts of shopping trips consume these women an astonishing 960 times a day, or 6,720 times a week.
Further, the survey suggests that the thrill is in the chase for women, where shopping is concerned, because about half the respondents said they didn’t wear everything in their wardrobe, and 40% described themselves as bag or shoe ‘addicts’, with one in ten becoming bored with a new item after only a fortnight.
And, it doesn’t end there: Apparently even the current credit crunch can’t stand in the way of a shopping spree, with 62% saying that they would delay payments using credit cards, and 8% even prepared to use the funds saved to pay the rent or mortgage.
On average, those surveyed said they spent at least 30% of their annual income on clothes; around a quarter would think nothing of spending £200 or more on a longed-for item, and more than a third would buy it in three or more colours.
Discussing the survey, psychologist Dr Jane Prince, of the University of Glamorgan, said:
People think about things which bring them pleasurable feelings. The pleasure is usually in the anticipating and planning.
But so many women displaying this level of preoccupation, thinking about something once a minute, would indicate widespread addictive behaviour with regard to shopping which really does not seem to be evidenced in any academic literature I have ever seen.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Psychology at 4:56 PM EDT
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Whilst men fighting over women is a common occurrence today, scientists claim they have found evidence of prehistoric battles over females that were far more deadly.
Several Archaeologists had argued that women have long motivated cycles of violence and blood feuds throughout history, but there has never really been solid archaeological evidence to support this view.
However, while re-examining a three metre long burial pit containing 34 skeletons of people who had been attacked by a rival tribe around 5000BC; and then discovered by archaeologists in the 1980’s, researchers were able to work out the origins of the victims tossed into the mass grave near Talheim, in south-west of Germany.
Then, using a relatively new method, they were able to distinguish one tribe from another; showing that neighbouring tribes were prepared to kill their male rivals, in order to obtain women, about 7,000 years ago.
Most of the skeletons bore marks to the left side of the skull, indicating that they were probably hit with a stone axe, and each had been bound before being murdered, while others may have been killed by arrow-wounds from behind as they apparently tried to flee.
Scientists from Durham University, in collaboration with researchers from University College London, University of Wisconsin and a German government body, analysed the Strontium, Carbon and Oxygen isotope “signatures” of the skeleton’s teeth, which gave vital information about the victim’s geological origin and diet. This analysis showed that the men and children all came from the same local tribe, but all the women were from different tribes. The researchers concluded from this information that the absence of local females meant they had been spared execution and had been captured instead. They then speculated that capturing the women could even have been the primary motive for the attack.
Lead researcher, Dr Alex Bentley, from Durham University’s Anthropology Department, said:
It seems this community was specifically targeted, as could happen in a cycle of revenge between rival groups.
Although resources and population were undoubtedly factors in central Europe around that time, women appear to be the immediate reason for the attack. Our analysis points to the local women being regarded as somehow special and were therefore kept alive.
Prior to this study, published in the journal Antiquity, archaeological evidence suggested prehistoric violence was largely triggered by disputes over resources, overcrowding and property.
Dr Bentley added:
There is a theory that the most violent feuds in developing communities are motivated by women and pigs and this would slot into that theory.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, History at 12:28 AM EDT
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Last year, researchers at Durham University published a paper revealing that “Daddy’s girls” choose husbands that look like their fathers, whilst those who had difficult relationships with their fathers tended to go for men with very different looks.
Now, according to a new study from the University of Iowa, it seems that if a man’s mother is highly educated, the chances are that the woman he marries will also have equivalent qualifications.
Researchers found that nearly 80% of high-achieving men, whose mothers held a bachelor’s degree, married women with a similar education. And 62% of men, whose mothers had a master’s degree or doctorate, tied the knot with an equivalent degree holder.
Sociologist, Dr Christine Whelan and her colleague, Christie Boxer studied data from 3,700 people who took part in a survey about men and the educational level of the women close to them. All the men surveyed were considered to be high achievers, in their 20s and 30s, who earned salaries in the top 10 percent for their age group.
The researchers discovered that more than 70% of the men had mothers who worked while they were growing up, and that the same group was twice as likely to marry a woman who made $50,000 or more per year.
Of course, the results might be explained by social class, but the U.S. based researchers believe they help explain the old adage that ‘men tend to marry their mothers’.
Dr Whelan (who obtained her degree from Oxford University) said:
These young men look up to their mothers as role models. They grew up in a family where their mothers were educated women
When they make their own choices about someone who they think will be a good wife in the future, or a good mother, they go back to their role models.
They are increasing excited about the idea that they won’t have to be the only bread winner in the family, so these men are attracted to women who have a job and express a continuing interest to work
Although the research focused on high-earners, the phenomenon is expected to apply more generally, with men of all incomes being influenced by their mother’s attitude towards work and education.
Possibly, modelling their choice of wife on a parents’ successful marriage may help a child increase their own chances of a happy partnership.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Sociology at 6:49 PM EDT
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In the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire study, which looked at the platonic relationships of people aged 18 to 23 and 27 to 52, researchers found that sexual sparks and mating motives can shape who we choose to make friends with, and how hard we work to keep those people as part of our lives.
For many, lead author April Bleske-Rechek says, having an attractive friend or a friend who makes us feel attractive validates our feelings of desirability and offers a sense of security.
It’s the whole back burner idea that there’s some possibility [for love] there if the current romantic relationship doesn’t work out
Across both age groups and genders, people who are attracted to an opposite-sex friend will place additional importance on maintaining that relationship. But, the more attraction and flirtation play a role in a friendship, the lower the levels of satisfaction with the current romantic relationship.
Bleske-Rechek said:
This is a chicken-and-egg question, we don’t know if flirtation and attraction to an opposite-sex friend causes a decrease in satisfaction with their current romantic relationship, or if they’re not satisfied with their current romantic relationship so it’s more important for them to have something elsewhere.
Young women who are romantically involved are less likely to be attracted to an opposite-sex friend, and even less likely to be attracted to an opposite-sex friend who himself is involved. But, this “blinders” effect does not occur in their male counterparts.
Dr Bleske-Rechek continued:
For young adult men, single and involved are the same thing, they have the exact same perceptions of attraction to that friend whether she’s involved or not.
Interestingly, young men tend to overestimate how attracted their female friends are to them, while young women tend to underestimate male friends’ attraction. However, middle-aged men and women report similar levels of attraction to each other.
Both sexes - although women more so than men - are keenly aware that sparks between friends can wreak havoc on their romantic relationships if they aren’t careful.
Amongst young adults, 22 percent of men and 47 percent of women think sexual chemistry with an opposite-sex friend makes their lives more complicated. With middle-aged adults, 15 percent of men and 33 percent of women feel that way.
The difficulty most often cited was spousal jealousy. For about a quarter of men and nearly half of women (45 percent), an opposite-sex friendship isn’t considered kosher by the person with whom they share a bed.
Such spousal concerns aren’t unfounded. A 2004 study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology revealed that as much as 15 percent of the time, an opposite-sex friendship between romantically committed people can end in a “mate poach.”
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Psychology at 8:33 PM EDT
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Humans flock like sheep and birds, subconsciously following a minority of people who seem to know where they are going, according to new research.
The study, led by Prof Jens Krause with PhD student John Dyer of Leeds University and colleagues at the Universities of Oxford and Wales Bangor, conducted a series of experiments in which volunteers were asked to walk randomly around a large hall without talking to each other, but keeping within arms length of other individuals. Within the group, a select few individuals received more detailed information about where to walk.
The research entitled “Consensus decision making in human crowds,” and published in the journal Animal Behaviour, showed that it takes a minority of just 5 percent of what were termed “informed individuals” to influence the direction of a crowd of a minimum of 200 people. The remaining herd of 95 percent followed, forming a self-organising, snake-like structure, without realising it.
Professor Krause said:
There are strong parallels with animal grouping behaviour
We’ve all been in situations where we get swept along by the crowd but what’s interesting about this research is that our participants ended up making a consensus decision despite the fact that they weren’t allowed to talk or gesture to one another. In most cases the participants didn’t realise they were being led by others.
Other experiments in the study used groups of different sizes, with different ratios of ‘informed individuals’. Here, the research findings showed that as the number of people in a crowd increased, the number of informed individuals decreased. In large crowds of 200 or more, five percent of the group was enough to influence the direction in which it travels.
The research also looked at different scenarios for the location of the ‘informed individuals’ to determine if where they were located had a bearing on the time it took for the crowd to follow.
Jens Krause continued:
We initially started looking at consensus decision making in humans because we were interested in animal migration, particularly birds, where it can be difficult to identify the leaders of a flock, but it just goes to show that there are strong parallels between animal grouping behaviour and human crowds.
More striking was that the study found that even when people were shown a faster route, they still preferred to stick with the old one, and continued to tell others to take the long road too.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Biology at 8:50 PM EST
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If I had a bunch of Lab rats and loads of spare time I know what sort of experiments I’d set up! It seems the animal behaviour researchers at McMaster University in Ontario Canada share my perversions interests. Bennett Galef’s research team has been studying sexual attraction amongst rats.
Bored researchers placed two male rats behind mesh screens at either end of a tank, only one of which had recently copulated with a female.
A number of different female rats were then placed, separately, in the middle of the tank. Galef’s team found that these females typically moved over and lingered longer near the stud.
With blinding insight Galef notes:
It’s highly likely that the female rats are attracted by the smell of the sexually active male, rather than repelled by the stench of desperation from the sex-starved one. It’s unlikely that males would evolve a signal that makes them unattractive to females!
What really made me astonished was that turning over two pages revealed a full single page advertisement for Ontario, paid for by the Government of Ontario. Is this a coincidence?
Under a headline “One natural resource in Ontario is mined more than any other” sits a multicoloured image of a brain… I’m sceptical ;)
Posted by Oliver as Anthropology, Biology at 8:00 AM EST
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It’s been said that changes in male investment in mating strategies, mate seeking behaviour and parenting effort might be associated with changes in testosterone levels. But scientists studying the Ariaal tribe (subsistence pastoralists living in northern Kenya) found that they experience a decline in levels of the male hormone only after they get married, according to research published in Current Anthropology.
The Ariaal have an “aloof” marital system; whereby, apart from sex, husbands and wives have very little to do with each other, and the men are only minimally involved in childcare. Ariaal men remain single “warriors” until they are about 30 years old, at which time they marry one or more women.
The researchers measured testosterone in 205 Ariaal men, aged 20 and over; and (contrary to prediction) found that those with one wife had lower levels of the hormone than unmarried men, and polygynously married men had lower levels still.
Peter B. Gray (University of Nevada) and colleagues said:
Testosterone levels are lower among married men probably because they are investing less in mating effort, or to put it another way, they no longer have to compete for mates.
The finding provides both a social and evolutionary explanation for the decrease in testosterone, rather than an age-related one; and so, whilst variation in testosterone may still be associated with mating effort in young Ariaal men, political networks and wealth may be better predictors of marital status in older men.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Sociobiology at 3:30 PM EDT
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Having browsed some of the dating and seduction related message boards, and then listened to some of the gobbledygook taught to students of the Seduction panjandrums, one idea we find absolutely hilarious is that of being the ‘Alpha Male’.
Being the alpha male seems to be the universal excuse of immature guys that are frustrated by their lack of success in attempting to find a girlfriend; and so they decide to take their frustrations out on the rest of the world; starting arguments on internet discussion boards and generally making a nuisance of themselves. However, more enlightened folk would call this being a Cockblock or a Bully etc.
Most of the population will no doubt have seen big and aggressive animals, outfitted with dangerous weapons (fangs, tusks, antlers, horns) such as Gorillas, Elk, Wolves or even Sea lions battling with one another for control of a harem of females on some nature programme or other. And this is most likely where these poor deluded individuals have obtained the idea from. This much was pointed out to one gentleman recently, and he was surprised that it wasn’t an idea developed by his chosen Seduction guru, and had merely been taken out of context from popular science.
Origins
The phrase alpha male originates from back in the 1950’s when Primatologists were first studying animal dominance hierarchies; the animals would be labelled Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta etc., as the perceived order of the level of dominance.
Now, in species such as Gorillas, harems are established, in which the dominant ‘silverback’ male mates with perhaps three to six females. (Male gorillas are two to three times larger than their mates, apparently because competition among males to be successful harem-keepers has conveyed an evolutionary advantage to those that are larger, stronger, and generally more effective in keeping rivals at bay.) No wonder the guys claiming to be the Alpha male have so much pent up anger and aggression, or at least they pretend to be that way.
If we contrast the Gorilla with the Gibbon: gibbons live in male-female pairs, so most healthy gibbons get to reproduce, and usually most males do. As a result, there are very few big winners or big losers and, accordingly, almost no size difference between the sexes.
This is much more like human society, where a far more complex and multi-layered dominance hierarchy will be found. Consider the Military, the Caste system in India, or the company where you work. All of these are multi-level hierarchies. Even if we expand this idea to more violent organisations, The Mafia, the Yakuza and Triads are all multi-layered dominance hierarchies, and it would be facile to claim that the Godfather, Oyabun or Mountain Master gets all the females, whilst the rest of the organisation remains celibate.
Just for fun
So, if we attempt to identify any alpha male in human society, we are forced to confront the fact that there are a number of very powerful people at the top of different divisions of society, and that in turn automatically rules out there being any alpha male in human society.
As a simple test, we have split all of the United Kingdom society into four branches, and identified four possible alpha males. See how much sense this makes to you, and whether any of these people are renowned as harem-keepers:
All of these candidate alpha males appear to be devoted (to the best of my knowledge) to the women they married, and aside from Roman Abramovich getting divorced for a younger woman, none of these people have been know for their sexual exploits. But even then, that doesn’t come close to the sexual proclivities of the gorilla.
Testicle size
So, getting back to more serious science; scientists have observed that species in which mate-guarding predominates generally have small testes. Whereas when frequent copulation is the preferred strategy, then, unsurprisingly, the resulting male gonads are much larger.
For some notable cases of frequent copulation, look as those species that are polyandrous, in which one female regularly mates with more than one male (such as the Jacanas). These animals typically have a high copulation frequency, probably initiated by males, each attempting to swamp the sperm of his rivals and thereby increase the chances that the eggs to be deposited in his nest (and which he will then incubate and care for) are genetically his. The males of such species have oversized testes, producing more sperm than monogamous males whose responsibility is just to inseminate their mate but not to compete with the sperm of other males. This pattern is not limited to birds, it has been found in mammals generally, confirmed by comparing, for example, rodent species that do and do not have many extra-pair copulations, as well as members of the Horse family (including Zebras), Baleen whales and Primates.
Lekking
Some bird species, including Prairie chickens and Sage grouse in North America, breed on what is called a ‘lek,’ a communal displaying ground. Males gather here and show their wares, calling and posturing and typically arranging themselves in a dominance pattern, with the alpha males in the middle. Females mate almost exclusively with these favoured individuals, who may copulate with numerous females in one day; these females, in turn, generally give the 
subordinate males a cold shoulder. Systems of this sort provide the opportunity to answer this question: When males have especially large testes, is it because of sperm competition? (i.e. because other males are likely to be copulating with the same females) or simply because of the demands of producing enough sperm to fertilize the eggs of so many different females?
The answer is pretty clear-cut: Whereas polyandrous species have large testes, the males of lekking species have testes that, corrected for overall body size, are if anything exceptionally small. Evidently, it is rather easy to make enough sperm to fertilize one female or even many, as dominant lekking males do. What really makes for big balls is when males must compete with the sperm produced by other males.
The most impressive case comes from observations of the great apes. Remember the impressive silverback male gorillas, large in body and relatively aggressive in temperament, who succeed in dominating other males and gaining reproductive rights to a small harem of females? Although their bodies are large, their testicles are remarkably small, indeed downright tiny once corrected for body weight. By contrast, chimpanzee males (which do not achieve anything like the reproductive despotism enjoyed by their gorilla counterparts) have immense testicles. This is entirely reasonable, since a female chimp in heat will copulate with many different males; in one case, Jane Goodall observed a female chimpanzee copulate 84 times in eight days, with seven different males. As a result, a male chimp cannot simply assume that sexual access to an oestrous female will result in paternity. He must produce enough sperm to give them (and thus himself) a fighting chance.
Amongst people, when it comes to testicle size, human males fall somewhere between the polygynous gorilla and the promiscuous chimp, suggesting that we are mildly polygynous.
Infanticide
A more ethically troubling discovery (originally from the work of Sarah Hrdy) has been that many alpha males practise infanticide. The pattern is as follows: When the harem-keeping male is eventually deposed, the newly ascendant alpha male not uncommonly embarks on a gristly policy of slaughtering the nursing infants. Although contemptible by human standards, such behaviour makes ‘good’ evolutionary sense, because after their youngsters are killed, nursing mothers quickly resume ovulating, whereupon they are likely to mate with the new harem-keeper (despite the fact that he murdered her offspring.) Insofar as the unfortunate infants were sired by the preceding male, their fate is of no biological concern to the newly ascendant infanticidal alpha male. He is interested only in his own progeny, not someone else’s.
Interestingly, female Langur monkeys have even evolved an interesting counterstrategy. If a female Langur is in the late stages of pregnancy when the male takeover occurs (roughly every 27 months), she may undergo a ‘pseudo-oestrus,’ developing swollen genitals and a sexual appetite for the new harem-keeper. Then, when her offspring is born, the adult male is more likely to act paternal than infanticidal.
Polyandry
Sometimes, however, males may have little choice: Females mate with more than one male and cannot be prevented from doing so. In one particular species of zebra (known as Grevy’s zebra, after its discoverer) individuals live in groups whose membership is constantly shifting. Females associated with a given male are likely to mate with a different male not long afterwards (polyandrous.) In fact, during a single day they may mate with an average of four different males. On the other hand, there are some Grevy’s females (generally, those that have just given birth) who remain with one male for a prolonged period, during which they are essentially monogamous. They do this, because they need reliable sources of water, which are found only on a male’s territory. So Grevy’s stallions have two different kinds of females to deal with; those that are sexually faithful and those that aren’t (bear in mind that the same female will occupy different roles at different times in her life).
Grevy stallions adjust their tactics accordingly, depending on whether their female companion is polyandrous or monogamous. When mating with polyandrous females, males invest more time and energy in mating itself; Stallions call to and copulate seven times more frequently than when involved (temporarily) with monogamous females. They even ejaculate larger quantities of semen. It is also worth noting that in another zebra species, the Plains zebra, females live in traditional harems, each lead by a single male, and as far as is known, they only mate with the harem-keeper. Plains zebra stallions copulate less, produce less semen, and also have smaller testes than their Grevy’s counterparts, which have to be prepared to deal with females having a penchant for a high-frequency of extra-pair copulations.
Summary
So, the closest human parallel we have to anything like an alpha male would be the charismatic men who establish cults or other forms of communal living arrangements and then proceed to monopolise the sexual attentions of women, including those associated with other, more junior cult members. Indeed, one of the main reasons for the failure of various utopian communes has been eventual resistance to the sexual privileges typically demanded (and received) by the founding fathers.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Sociobiology at 9:13 PM EDT
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Back in 1999 David Shade reported on his own Seduction observations, and claimed:
The old adage that women marry their fathers is so very true.
Women of divorced parents tend to end up divorced themselves. If their father was absent, they tend to be with men who are absent. Women who were treated well by their fathers tend to have a good self esteem and to be with men who treat them well. They take compliments well. Women who were treated badly by their fathers tend to have a low self esteem and be with men who treat them badly. They do not take compliments well. Women who were the youngest sibling and spoiled by their father tend to be confident and sassy.
Interestingly, recent research by Durham University and two Polish institutions concluded that women who enjoyed a good childhood relationship with their male parent found men who resemble their fathers to be more desirable.
The correlation only applied when the relationship between father and daughter was particularly close. Women who reported negative, neutral or even slightly positive bonds were no more likely to prefer men looking like their fathers than anyone else.
The study illustrated its point giving celebrity examples as Nigella Lawson and Charles Saatchi with Nigel Lawson; along with Zoë Ball and Norman Cook with Johnny Ball.
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| Nigella Lawson |
Charles Saatchi |
Nigel Lawson |
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| Zoë Ball |
Norman Cook |
Johnny Ball |
Author, Dr Lynda Boothroyd of Durham University said:
These controlled results show for certain that the quality of a daughter’s relationship with her father has an impact on whom she finds attractive. It shows our human brains don’t simply build prototypes of the ideal face based on those we see around us, rather they build them based on those to whom we have a strongly positive relationship. We can now say that daughters who have very positive childhood relationships with their fathers choose men with similar central facial characteristics to their fathers.
Posted by Jonathan as Anthropology, Psychology at 3:51 PM EDT
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