Kamis, 21 Juni 2012

Why men are less moral than women: When masculinity is at stake, males are more likely to ditch the ethics

Why men are less moral than women: When masculinity is at stake, males are more likely to ditch the ethics

By Damien Gayle

PUBLISHED: 11:07 EST, 21 June 2012 | UPDATED: 11:07 EST, 21 June 2012


Men are more likely than women to cut moral corners when faced with a competitive scenario in which failure could diminish their sense of masculinity, research shows.

A series of studies shows that patterns of male dishonesty can be correlated with socio-cultural contexts in which they are motivated to defend their masculinity.

In an article for Scientific American, Cindi May, Professor of Psychology at the College of Charleston, reviews a body of research which demonstrate that men have lower moral standards than women.

Who's telling the truth? Studies show men are far more likely to lie, especially in situations which were failure could impugn their masculinity

Who's telling the truth? Studies show men are far more likely to lie, especially in situations which were failure could impugn their masculinity

Studies show males are more likely to minimise the consequences of moral misconduct, adopt ethically questionable tactics, and lie bigger and more often.

The pattern, Professor May notes, is most pronounced in areas where success has been viewed as a sign of male vigour and competence, and where loss signifies weakness, impotence or cowardice.

'When men must use strategy or cunning to prove or defend their masculinity, they are willing to compromise moral standards to assert dominance,' she says.

Pointing to a series of recent studies by Laura Kray of University of California, Berkely and Michael Haselhuhn of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Professor May argues that the root of the pattern may be socio-cultural.

Kray and Haselhuhn's work suggests that losing battles - especially in areas that are highly competitive and male oriented - presents a threat to masculinity.

The devil in us: Men were far more accepting of devious tactics, one study showed

The devil in us: Men were far more accepting of devious tactics, one study showed

'Apparently manhood is relatively fragile and precarious, and when it is challenged, men tend to become more aggressive and defensive,' Professor May writes.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted several experiments comparing not only the kinds of moral decisions men and women made, but also the personal and contextual factors influencing them.

In one, participants were asked to evaluate an ethical scenario in which an elderly couple were selling their family home - with the expectation that the buyer would preserve their house.

The buyer actually intended to demolish the building and build a new structure on the site. Participants had to decide whether the buyer was morally obliged to reveal the conflicting intentions.

Those taking part were also asked to complete another, separate questionnaire assessing how far they saw negotiating as a masculine endeavour.

Kray and Haselhuhn found, consistent with other findings, that men tak ing part in the experiment were more tolerant of keeping information back from the seller.

Moreover, this urge to non-disclosure was also more prevalent among men who saw effective negotiating as a masculine trait. These men found it more acceptable to deceive the elderly couple of they believed that it indicated male prowess, in other words.

Two follow up studies came to similar conclusions. In one, participanes were asked to consider whether it was morally necessary to reveal a buyer's intentions in a real estate deal when they were in conflict with those of the seller - with the twist that they were asked to do so from the perspective of either the buyer's agent or the seller's.

In another scenario, those taking part were asked to imagine they themselves had lied or that another person had lied, and then asked to evaluate whether the lie was morally acceptable.

Men were significantly less likely to recommend a disclosure of conflicting intentions in the first scenario, and to condemn the lie in the second, indicating again that they set lower ethical standards than women.

But, importantly, across both studies the ethical evaluations of the men taking part changed depending ontheir perspective. In the first case, men in the seller role were more likely to reveal the buyer's intentions than t he men representing the buyer.

In the second, men were far more willing to justify a lie when they were asked to make a judgement about their own actions than those of someone else.

By contrast, women's ethical judgements remained similar across all perspectives. Even when the ethical choice would stop them from succeeding, they maintained their ethical standards.

Finally, Professor May points to a study by Robert J. Robinson, from Harvard Business School, Roy J. Lewicki, from Ohio State University, and Eileen M. Donahue, of Wellesley College, which assessed individuals' willingness to violate their ethical principles in a range of negotiation scenarios.

This paper also found that men were more accepting than women of devious tactics like making false promises, misrepresenting information, and sabotaging their opponents.

The study found that this was was especially true for men who believed that negotiation prowess was an innate and integral p art of their masculine nature.

Despite the damning conclusions drawn by the various findings, Professor May sound a note of caution, asking readers to consider than all the investigations used competitive negotiation scenarios, where failure is associated with 'diminished financial status, threat to professional rank, and - at least to some - weakness'.

In scenarios which challenge traditional ideas of feminine competency and identity it's possible that women might become similarly morally vulnerable.

Nonetheless, she adds, 'these findings suggest that if ethical standards are a significant factor in your choice of financial advisors or real estate agents, it may be safer to go with Bernadette than with Bernie.'

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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@Deana, London, England - you're lying.

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Of course a chap should get aggressive and defensive when his masculinity is at stake. After all, getting a wallop in the nether regions is a very painful business. As Professor May puts it, "Apparently, manhood is relatively fragile and precarious."

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Women are more attracted to less moral men. Ever hear of the Dark Triad of traits?

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Another report recently found that women were more likely to have an extra-marital affair. It also found they were much more likely not to be found out......

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Yeah, men are dreadful. In times of desperation they'd never sacrifice themselves. Give their lives. Could you imagine it? 'Women and children first!' How could a man think of such a concept? Not a chance.

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The comments prove this is true! Men are more egotistical, they are less moral than women and they lie more. Everyone knows this and has since the beginning of time. But these same men will get on here and LIE ("No, women are just as bad!") and even blame women for their behavior! Thanks for proving the point guys!

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Given time and space an awful lot can be disproved regarding research by american institutes,colleges and UNI's.Like most research they start with a premise and work backwards to get the result they want.If anyone wants to check this out they should start by reading Christina Hoff Sommers.The whole aim is to bolster the esteem of women at the cost of the male ego and,of course to help women in the boardroom.Not only is it underhand ,it is also nigh on criminal.

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Think you'll find men will do what has to be done. Morality, and justice, are two different things.

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Not true, it's just that more women than men lied when finding this 'research'.

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- Reality Check, London, UK, 21/6/2012 17:55 ... yep, its cos we live in a society that almost refuses to hand out custodial sentences to women. -- also given that this article is about men defending their masculinity not men in general on anything and everything in life.Also what men? From a gulag? While we're at it does the doc of psychology have any political affiliations she's trying to prove? Oh wait she's a woman, she wouldn't try to skew our perspectives, that would be dishonest. The other detail is, should we take that men are less trustworthy because they were honest, or that women are more trustworthy because we will implicitly trust they are not lying .... Coin toss ... One thing to learn here - more rubbish in the world, more politciallised divisary stuff. Is there some sort of political movement for the shutting up of the two bickering, should have divorced by now political movements?

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