Gender Differencesand Our Perception & Value of Time

Influence Our Risk Taking Habits

Michelle RogatMatrix Presentation

04/07/2014

Gender Differences in Risk Taking: A Meta-AnalysisJames P. Byrnes, David C. Miller, and William D. Schafer University of Maryland

• Zuckerman's "risk as value" theory states that risk taking is highly valued male tendency and motivates high levels of risk taking across contexts in men.

• Wilson & Daly argue that risk taking is an "attribute of the masculine psychology" that evolved from competitive demands that force individuals to engage in risk taking to gain positions of power.

• Arnett's theory suggests that men would take more risks than women in most cultures because sensation seeking is found more often in men than women.

• This study’s results clearly supported that males are more likely to take risks than females.

• The study also found that males have an apparent lack of discernment and took more risks even when it was clear it was a bad idea to take that risk. The same analysis from the study found out the opposite for women, they did not take risks even when it was a good idea to do so.

Byrnes suggested that resisting a risk requires a certain amount of self-regulation or sense of uncertainty, self-corrective strategies for dealing with distractions and troublesome personality traits, and a tendency to learn from mistakes.

• “…studies do show that, as investors, women are much less prone to taking reckless risks than men, precisely because, as we've already heard, women tend not to suffer from overconfidence in the same way that men do. So it turns out that being paid less and praised less has its upsides -- for society at least. The flipside of this is that constantly being told that you are gifted, chosen and born to rule has distinct societal downsides. And this problem -- call it the "perils of privilege" -- brings us closer, I think, to the root of our collective recklessness.”

Men vs Women in the Workforce

Men earn more money and on average get higher paying jobs

• allows for lifestyle changes that distance yourself from others in your environment– Secluded house with

separate rooms– Car instead of bus– Private office instead of

shared cubicle– Overseer instead of team

player

Implications for Sustainability?

• Business and political decisions largely made by men, riskier decisions

• Precautionary Principle?

Bibliography

• Byrnes, J. P., Miller, D. C., & Schafer, W. D. (1999). Gender differences in risk taking: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 125(3), 367–383. doi:10.1037//0033-2909.125.3.367

• Naomi Klein: Addicted to risk | Talk Video | TED. Dec. (2010). Retrieved April 07, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/talks/naomi_klein_addicted_to_risk/transcript

• Paul Piff: Does money make you mean? | Talk Video | TED. Oct. (2013). Retrieved April 07, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_piff_does_money_make_you_mean

Perception & Value of Time

• Why couldn’t rich countries save and what made developing countries so good at saving?– direct connection with the way you save and the language

you speak– “Future-less” versus “Futured” Languages

• See the effects of this in– Savings– Budgeting– ROI

• Current timescales do not promote sustainability

• Chen hopes that understanding this connection could provide us with the tools to help us be “stewards of our own future”.

– This reminded me very much of Aldo Leopold and the sense of community through time.

Donella Meadows – Leveraging Points

#9. Length of delays, relative to the rate of system changes - Information received too quickly or too late can cause over- or under-reaction, even oscillations.

Implications for Sustainability?

• Not allowing for feedbacks in our economic decisions

• Not seeing the bigger picture• Change Resistance & BAU• Messes with Incentives for Sustainability

• Political terms • Returns on investment• Budgeting projects

Bibliography

• Keith Chen: Could your language affect your ability to save money? | Talk Video | TED. June. (2012). Retrieved April 07, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_chen_could_your_language_affect_your_ability_to_save_money/transcript#t-697562

• Meadows, D. (2008). Leverage points: places to intervene in a system. 1999. Available from:[2003 Nov 24]. Retrieved from http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&btnG=Search&q=intitle:Leverage+Points+Places+to+Intervene+in+a+System#4