Department of Marketing, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
J Pers Soc Psychol. 2012 Jan;102(1):69-80. doi: 10.1037/a0024761. Epub 2011 Jul 18.
The ratio of males to females in a population is an important factor in determining behavior in animals. We propose that sex ratio also has pervasive effects in humans, such as by influencing economic decisions. Using both historical data and experiments, we examined how sex ratio influences saving, borrowing, and spending in the United States. Findings show that male-biased sex ratios (an abundance of men) lead men to discount the future and desire immediate rewards. Male-biased sex ratios decreased men's desire to save for the future and increased their willingness to incur debt for immediate expenditures. Sex ratio appears to influence behavior by increasing the intensity of same-sex competition for mates. Accordingly, a scarcity of women led people to expect men to spend more money during courtship, such as by paying more for engagement rings. These findings demonstrate experimentally that sex ratio influences human decision making in ways consistent with evolutionary biological theory. Implications for sex ratio effects across cultures are discussed.
人口中的男女比例是决定动物行为的一个重要因素。我们提出,性别比例在人类中也具有普遍的影响,例如通过影响经济决策。我们使用历史数据和实验来研究性别比例如何影响美国的储蓄、借贷和支出。研究结果表明,男性偏多的性别比例(男性过多)会导致男性低估未来并渴望即时回报。男性偏多的性别比例降低了男性为未来储蓄的意愿,并增加了他们为即时支出借款的意愿。性别比例似乎通过增加同性别对配偶的竞争强度来影响行为。因此,女性短缺导致人们预期男性在求爱期间会花费更多的钱,例如支付更高的订婚戒指费用。这些发现通过实验证明,性别比例以与进化生物学理论一致的方式影响人类的决策。讨论了性别比例效应在不同文化中的影响。