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Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« on: October 18, 2014, 10:26:52 pm »
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/opinion/sunday/are-women-better-decision-makers.html?ref=opinion

 SundayReview | Opinion
Are Women Better Decision Makers?

By THERESE HUSTONOCT. 17, 2014

RECENTLY, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said that if we want to fix the gridlock in Congress, we need more women. Women are more focused on finding common ground and collaborating, she argued. But there’s another reason that we’d benefit from more women in positions of power, and it’s not about playing nicely.

Neuroscientists have uncovered evidence suggesting that, when the pressure is on, women bring unique strengths to decision making.

Mara Mather, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Southern California, and Nichole R. Lighthall, a cognitive neuroscientist now at Duke University, are two of the many researchers who have found that under normal circumstances, when everything is low-key and manageable, men and women make decisions about risk in similar ways. We gather the best information we can, we weigh potential costs against potential gains, and then we choose how to act. But add stress to the situation — replicated in the lab by having participants submerge their hands in painfully cold, 35-degree water — and men and women begin to part ways.

Dr. Mather and her team taught people a simple computer gambling game, in which they got points for inflating digital balloons. The more they inflated each balloon, the greater its value, and the risk of popping it. When they were relaxed, men and women took similar risks and averaged a similar number of pumps. But after experiencing the cold water, the stressed women stopped sooner, cashing out their winnings and going with the more guaranteed win. Stressed men did just the opposite. They kept pumping — in one study averaging about 50 percent more pumps than the women — and risking more. In this experiment, the men’s risk-taking earned them more points. But that wasn’t always the case.

In another experiment, researchers asked participants to draw cards from multiple decks, some of which were safe, providing frequent small rewards, and others risky, with infrequent but bigger rewards. They found that the most stressed men drew 21 percent more cards from the risky decks than from the safe ones, compared to the most stressed women, losing more over all.

Across a variety of gambles, the findings were the same: Men took more risks when they were stressed. They became more focused on big wins, even when they were costly and less likely.

Levels of the stress hormone cortisol appear to be a major factor, according to Ruud van den Bos, a neurobiologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands. He and his colleagues have found that the tendency to take more risks when under pressure is stronger in men who experience a larger spike in cortisol. But in women he found that a slight increase in cortisol seemed actually to improve decision-making performance.

Are we all aware when our decision making skews under stress? Unfortunately not. In a 2007 study, Stephanie D. Preston, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Michigan, and her colleagues told people that after 20 minutes, they would have to give a talk and would be judged on their speaking abilities. But first, they had to play a gambling game. Anxious, both men and women initially had a harder time making good decisions in the game.

But the closer the women got to the stressful event, the better their decision making became. Stressed women tended to make more advantageous decisions, looking for smaller, surer successes. Not so for the stressed men. The closer the timer got to zero, the more questionable the men’s decision making became, risking a lot for the slim chance of a big achievement.


The men were also less aware that they had used a risky strategy. In the last few minutes of the game, Dr. Preston interrupted each person immediately after he or she had just lost money. She asked people to rate how risky each of their possible choices had been, including the unsuccessful one they had just made. Women were more likely to rate their losing strategy as a poor one.

In one interesting study, a team led by Livia Tomova and Claus Lamm, of the University of Vienna, found through three experiments that under stressful conditions, women became more attuned to others. In one, people reached through a curtain and touched something pleasant, like a feather or a cotton ball, or something unpleasant, like a slimy mushroom or a plastic slug. Each person could see a picture of what he or she was touching, and what another person was touching a few feet away, and had to rate the pleasantness of their respective experiences. Typically, people merge the other person’s experience with their own — if I’m touching something pleasant, then I’ll rate your slug-touching experience as nicer than I ordinarily would.

WHEN women were stressed, however, from having to give a public speech, they actually found it easier than usual to empathize and take the other person’s perspective. Just the opposite happened for the stressed men — they became more egocentric. If I’m stroking a piece of silk, that cow tongue you’re touching can’t be all that bad.

Of course, just because it works this way in a lab doesn’t mean the same thing happens in the messy real world. Do organizations with women in charge actually make less risky and more empathetic decisions in stressful circumstances?

Some evidence suggests they do. Credit Suisse examined almost 2,400 global corporations from 2005 to 2011 — including the years directly preceding and following the financial crisis — and found that large-cap companies with at least one woman on their boards outperformed comparable companies with all-male boards by 26 percent.

Some might assume that there was a cost to this as well, that boards with women must have been excessively cautious before the financial crisis of 2008, as was the case with the balloon experiment. Not so. From 2005 to 2007, Credit Suisse also found, the stock performance of companies with women on their boards essentially matched performance of companies with all-male boards. Nothing lost, but much gained.

If we want our organizations to make the best decisions, we need to notice who is deciding and how tightly they’re gritting their teeth.

Unfortunately, what often happens is that women are asked to lead only during periods of intense stress. It’s called the glass cliff, a phenomenon first observed by the University of Exeter professors Michelle K. Ryan and Alex Haslam, who is now at the University of Queensland, in which highly qualified women are asked to lead organizations only in times of crisis. Think of Mary T. Barra at General Motors and Marissa Mayer at Yahoo, who were both brought in only after things had begun to fall apart. If more women were key decision makers, perhaps organizations could respond effectively to small stresses, rather than letting them escalate into huge ones.

We can’t make the big jobs in government or business any less stressful. But we can ensure that when the pressure rises, there’s a better balance between taking big risks and making real progress.
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Offline GourmetDan

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #1 on: October 18, 2014, 11:13:23 pm »

Outcome Base Logic... that's what this country needs...


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Offline DCPatriot

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #2 on: October 18, 2014, 11:37:53 pm »
Donning knee pads for Hillary.  Pathetic....the NYT can go to hell.
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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2014, 12:35:42 am »
Donning knee pads for Hillary.  Pathetic....the NYT can go to hell.

It's going to get very, very thick between now and 11/16.

Offline EC

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #4 on: October 19, 2014, 01:34:13 am »
Two words: Margaret Thatcher.

Don't go dissing women.
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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #5 on: October 19, 2014, 01:40:30 am »
Quote
Are Women Better Decision Makers?

That would depend on what exactly is to be decided upon. If it is which color curtains best match the lamp in the living room then I would say yes indeed!

If it is what to do about returning the USA to it's greatness then I would come down on the opposite side of the question.  Not saying that there are not some women who could make some great decisions in that regard but I don't think they would necessarily make better decisions than a similarly qualified man would.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #6 on: October 19, 2014, 01:45:43 am »
Two words: Margaret Thatcher.

Don't go dissing women.

Two very powerful words indeed! She had the make-up that allowed her to put emotion aside and make decisions based on the facts before her.  I'm quite certain she is not the only woman around with that ability but... well! You know the rest.
"I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

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- J. R. R. Tolkien

Offline alicewonders

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #7 on: October 19, 2014, 02:03:43 am »
Two words: Margaret Thatcher.

Don't go dissing women.

Thank you very much EC for taking up for women!   888heartkitty

Margaret Thatcher is an excellent example.  I would add Queen Elizabeth I, (forget her first name) - Bhutto/Pakistan.  There are others.

Women are the glue that holds a family together, and women bear incredible amounts of stress taking care of their family.  There's no reason a woman can't be an outstanding and strong leader who can turn on a dime and make an well-calculated executive decision.  There are weak and strong members of both sexes.

 
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Offline DCPatriot

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2014, 02:49:05 am »
Two words: Margaret Thatcher.

Don't go dissing women.

...or Golda Meir.

Didn't mean to diss the concept.  It's just that first...it's the NYT, and 2nd....it's the NYT cheering for HIllary.
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Offline EC

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2014, 02:54:00 am »
That would depend on what exactly is to be decided upon. If it is which color curtains best match the lamp in the living room then I would say yes indeed!

If it is what to do about returning the USA to it's greatness then I would come down on the opposite side of the question.  Not saying that there are not some women who could make some great decisions in that regard but I don't think they would necessarily make better decisions than a similarly qualified man would.

I'm going to both agree and disagree with you there, my brother.  :laugh:

While the decisions would certainly be different, that doesn't necessarily make them bad. To bring back the USA to it's greatness, what do you need right now? I'd posit the first thing needed is a re-emphasis on family and faith, two areas most women excel at. No one can deny that women are the core of a stable family, and the bedrock of most churches.

And they can be incredibly decisive where threats occur to either of those things. Yet they have an advantage over men in pulling those decisions - they listen to, then weave the various advice they get together. It's not exactly an uncommon trait - look at any charitable organization or church outreach, and it's women doing the grunt work and making things purr like a kitten.

I'll dismiss people on character and on policy, but never on sex.

And the curtains? There is a reason most high end interior designers are male!  :tongue2:
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Offline EC

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2014, 03:01:40 am »
...or Golda Meir.

Didn't mean to diss the concept.  It's just that first...it's the NYT, and 2nd....it's the NYT cheering for HIllary.

Oh - I agree with your gut reaction to the source. And the probable motivation behind it, though they could be lining up Fauxahontas instead. It's also a trial balloon to see if there is any more mileage in the tired "War on Women" cliche. I just believe in turning their words back on them. In this case it means not falling into the trap they have set.
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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #11 on: October 19, 2014, 01:45:07 pm »
I don't know if this is relevant but my wife decided to marry me, a decision on her part that I certainly would not have made.  If you ask her, she'd tell you it was a wise decision.  But if you ask any of our friends or family, they'll tell you I got the better deal.

Offline aligncare

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #12 on: October 19, 2014, 01:56:37 pm »
I'm going to both agree and disagree with you there, my brother.  :laugh:

...

And the curtains? There is a reason most high end interior designers are male!  :tongue2:

Hey, wait a minute. Look into their sexual orientation before making that statement. I bet you a majority, if not all, let's just say are comfortable wearing pink.

Offline olde north church

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #13 on: October 19, 2014, 03:27:04 pm »
...or Golda Meir.

Didn't mean to diss the concept.  It's just that first...it's the NYT, and 2nd....it's the NYT cheering for HIllary.

Yeah, whew!  That's 3. 
What was the solution of the cold water thing?  Something the researchers the women researchers decided would be the best outcome.  Why don't we examine what the actual positive outcome would be?
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Offline alicewonders

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #14 on: October 19, 2014, 03:27:58 pm »
I don't know if this is relevant but my wife decided to marry me, a decision on her part that I certainly would not have made.  If you ask her, she'd tell you it was a wise decision.  But if you ask any of our friends or family, they'll tell you I got the better deal.

You are a wise and very lucky man Victor.   :beer:

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Re: Are Women Better Decision Makers?
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2014, 08:25:17 pm »
I don't know if this is relevant but my wife decided to marry me, a decision on her part that I certainly would not have made.  If you ask her, she'd tell you it was a wise decision.  But if you ask any of our friends or family, they'll tell you I got the better deal.

I married up, too.  As for the rest of the thread, this me:   :2popcorn:
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