Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

. Summary by Domenico Decaro, Madeleine Higgins, Charlene Win, & Seneca Zamora Citation: Griskevicius, V., Tybur, J. M., Ackerman, J. M., Delton, A. W., Robertson, T. E., & White, A. E. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /a Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

Introduction The researchers investigate the effect of sex-ratio on financial behavior in human populations In mammallian monogamous populations sex-ratio is found to impact male behavior as male reproductive success is more affected by the sex-ratio Pressures for males to compete intra-sexually in populations with male majority are shared between animals and humans: males desire to allocate resources for females when competing for mates The opposite is found in female-biased ratios Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

In humans, with male-dominated populations higher marriage rates and high parental investment contrasts with the lower marriage rates and low parental investment found in female-biased populations The researchers seek to examine how sex ratio affects male-dominated populations with regard to romantic expenditures: with the choice of a romantic Valentine’s Day Gift, and entrée for a dinner date, and an engagement ring Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761 Marriage and Economics

Method 147 University students, 81 females, 66 males 2 X 2 Design ID – Sex Ratio DV – Response on Questionnaire Participant was primed o Male Biased condition o Female Biased condition Questionnaire o Monetary Rating Scale o Valentine’s Day, Engagement Ring, Dinner Date Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

Results Main effect of gender When shown a male biased sex ratio $6.01 more on Valentine’s Day $1.51 more on a dinner date $368 more on an engagement ring Supported the hypothesis Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

Conclusion Men and women expect men to spend more money in a male-biased society In a male-biased sex ratio society, women tend to be choosier about the type of man that they want Competition between men in a male-biased ratio society is due to added pressure to “outdo” each other. From an evolutionary standpoint… Women tend to select men based on the amount of resources that they have available because a potential partner must provide for future offspring Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761

Discussion/Critical Review Interesting Points Male biased sex ratio influenced women as well Differences in culture shown by Chinese men Authors did not address confounds Discussion Questions To what extent do you think men are conscious of this? Women? Does knowing this information change anything? Why do you think men’s behavior in this area differs crossculturally? Griskevicius, V., et al. (2011, July 18). The Financial Consequences of Too Many Men: Sex Ratio Effects on Saving, Borrowing, and Spending. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. doi: /aoo24761