Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Social Effects of Male to Female Population Ratios

博士生艾米丽斯通（犹他州大学），与博士伊丽莎白卡什丹的指导下，将调查如何在每100名妇女的男性比例（成人性别比）的变化形状的男性和女性的社会战略。关于性别比例不平等的社会影响的跨文化研究一致发现了一种违反直觉的攻击模式：当女性人数超过男性且配偶充足时，男性会犯下更多的杀人和攻击行为，这是男性对配偶的竞争形式，但当男性人数超过女性且配偶较少时，竞争就会下降。这项研究测试了两个可供选择的解释性假设：一个是“男性交配机会假设”，它遵循了一句格言，即男性和他们的选择一样忠诚，所以当女性数量超过他们时，竞争会更激烈，因为有更多的交配机会;以及“女性选择假说"，“这一理论预测，当女性稀少时，男性的暴力行为会减少，因为女性在这种情况下有讨价还价的能力，而且不会在伴侣身上发现攻击性。这项研究将作为一项自然实验在雅普州的两个外岛上进行。在一个岛上，男性人数超过女性，而另一个岛上，女性人数超过男性。研究人员将使用多种方法收集数据，包括行为观察，焦点跟踪，半结构化访谈和标准化量表的管理。本研究具有重要的理论意义和实践意义。 激发男性交配机会假说的逻辑是基于新的理论模型，这些模型挑战了过去30年来普遍存在的关于预测配偶竞争的突出观点。这项研究将是对这些新理论的第一次实证实地测试之一。这个项目还解决了为什么男性选择或不选择配偶竞争的侵略性模式的问题;女性是否以及如何竞争配偶;以及达尔文关于女性在引导男性竞争中的重要性的想法是否适用于人类。这项研究的结果将应用于控制多种社会背景下的攻击性行为。资助这项研究也支持社会科学家的教育。

Doctoral student Emily Stone (University of Utah), with the guidance of Dr. Elizabeth Cashdan, will investigate how variation in the ratio of men per 100 women (adult sex ratio) shapes men's and women's social strategies. Cross-cultural research on the social effects of unequal sex ratios consistently finds a counterintuitive pattern of aggression: men commit more homicides and assaults, a form of male competition over mates, when women outnumber men and mates are plentiful, but competition declines when men outnumber women and mates are less available. This study tests two alternative explanatory hypotheses: a "men's mating opportunities hypothesis," which follows the adage that men are as faithful as their options, and so are competing more when women outnumber them because there are more mating opportunities to go around; and a "female choice hypothesis," which predicts that men are less violent when women are scarce because women have bargaining power in this context and don't find aggression appealing in a mate. The research will be conducted as a natural experiment on two outer islands in Yap state. On one island, men outnumber women, and the other, women outnumber men. The researcher will gather data using multiple methods including behavioral observations, focal follows, semi-structured interviews, and the administration of standardized scales. This research is important for both theory and practice. The logic motivating the men's mating opportunities hypothesis is based on new theoretical models that challenge prominent ideas about what predicts mate competition that have been common for the past 30 years. This study will be one of the first empirical field tests of these new theories. This project also addresses questions about why men choose or do not choose aggressive modes of mate competition; whether and how women also compete over mates; and whether Darwin's ideas about the importance of females in guiding male competition apply to humans. Findings from this research will have application to controlling aggressive behavior in multiple social contexts. Funding this research also supports the education of a social scientist.